


Death Note: A Slightly Different Note

by litterateur97



Category: Death Note (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Both of them are kind of idiots when it comes to love, Canon-Typical Violence, Drama, Eventual Smut, F/M, L doesn't want to fall in love, Misa is smart in this, My First Fanfic, Mystery, Original Character(s), POV Amane Misa, POV L (Death Note), Pining, Romance, She's still obsessed with love though, Slow Burn, Smart Amane Misa
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:20:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 19
Words: 92,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26127154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/litterateur97/pseuds/litterateur97
Summary: The original Death Note story with one major twist, Misa meets L first. Can the young model who longs to be loved find happiness with the world's greatest detective? Or is everything destined to end in tragedy?My first fanfiction in a very, very long time. Read and review! Thank you for reading!
Relationships: Amane Misa/L
Comments: 119
Kudos: 125





	1. The Beginning's the Worst Part

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! Welcome to my first fanfic on A03! It has been a very long time since I last wrote fanfiction, so I’m sorry if this turns out horrible. I’ve loved this pairing for a long time, and I wanted to finally write about them after seeing a couple of others finally put stuff out there, and I thought this fandom was dead! Now I am a graduate student, so I’m sorry if I update this sporadically. I’ll do the best I can. 
> 
> My idea for this fanfiction was inspired by a few others like it. Obviously, I’m not the first to do the Misa meets L first trope, but I wanted to do my own spin on it. I also wanted to give credit to the fics I was inspired by, “Rewrite” by JustaMinuet, “His Dragons & Her Monsters” by RavenRois on fanfiction.net, and most recently “Candied Façade” by Herembers. If you haven’t read any of these, I highly suggest them! 
> 
> This is an AU, but I’m going to do my best to stick to the timeline we see in the manga. All of this is going to be from L and Misa’s perspectives and I will obviously be going against canon in what they do, but you can assume that Light’s actions are exactly the same as they were in the manga, at least for the first half of this fic. L and Misa might seem a little out of character, and I will be using the smarter Misa trope, but I hope you all enjoy anyway! 
> 
> I have no idea how long this is going to end up being, but I’m determined to finish it! No matter how long it takes, I promise I won’t abandon this work. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! 
> 
> Okasan – mother  
> Otosan – father  
> Ojiisan – grandfather  
> Otonashi – a fake name for L

Chapter 1

May 19, 2003

20:04

Blood. There was blood everywhere. She had stepped right into a pool of it, her boots meeting the slightly dried substance instead of the wood floors. It trailed from the living room all the way to the kitchen, where she could see a body on its side. Shaking, she took another step forward and identified the broad figure to be that of her father. He was next to their home line, after most likely dragging himself across the floor to it, intending on calling for help.

In her state of shock, Misa started backing up, only to trip over another body. After falling roughly on her behind, Misa froze. Looking right back at her from her place on the ground was her mother, although the light in her eyes had been snuffed out quite some time ago. Her mother’s jaw was left hanging open, though no noise would ever escape it again. She looked so much paler than normal, despite her Caucasian background, as if all the blood had been drained from her body.

Misa did not scream, could not find it in her to possibly scream. She just sat there frozen to the ground, a deer in headlights, as the blood continued to seep into her clothes. Oh God. _Oh God._

The room started spinning and breathing did not come as automatically as it should. _They’re… they’re…_ Her hands were trembling, and a small sob escaped her. Still, she could not move, and it felt as if the world were crashing down around her.

Finally, something snapped inside her, and she quickly grabbed her flip phone from her purse and fumbled as she dialed the number for the police. Tears were streaming down her face and the operator could hardly understand her through her sobs, but twenty minutes later the police showed up at her door.

It was a rainy Monday night and she had been coming home for the first time since her graduation to tell her parents all about her new job with this new agency. She was an hour late because she had been flirting with this cute boy she met on the train. How could she have known that this mistake would haunt her for the rest of her life? How could she have known that when she opened that door her parents would already be long gone?

A young woman with straight black hair came up to her and wrapped a blanket around her shoulders while the other officers set up the crime tape and began investigating the scene.

“We are going to get you through this. We will find whoever did this and bring them to justice.”

The night was misty and cold, and as if the heavens could feel the ache in the young girl’s heart, the skies opened and water pelted the earth, grieving alongside her.

_Okasan… Otosan… please forgive me…_

_\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

May 20, 2003

04:30

Eight long hours of interrogation later, and the model was exhausted. They kept asking her the same questions and getting the same answers. The officers interrogating her were nothing like the ones that found her at the scene of the crime. Those officers had been kind to her, but the men in front of her now were much more hostile.

They were both quite ugly, the younger one had a pornstache and a horribly cut French crop, while the older one had a receding hairline and lots of gray hairs in his beard. No wonder they were so mean.

The blanket kept around her shoulders no longer gave her any warmth and she wished to disappear from this place altogether. And yet they continued. 

“When did you arrive at the scene?”

“20:04.”

“And where were you before you arrived at the scene?

“Like I said… I was at the t-train station.”

“Do you have anything to prove your whereabouts? An alibi?”

“There was this boy I was t-talking to… I got his email… And you already have the receipt for my train ticket.”

“This says you arrived an hour earlier.”

“Y-yes… b-but-”

“What were you doing between 19:04 and 20:04?”

“I was t-talking with that b-boy… um-”

“What’s his name?”

“Uh- Hiroshi-”

“Last time you said his name was Hiroki. Get your facts straight.”

“No! No! T-that’s what I meant! Hiroki!”

“That’s enough.” A new voice called from behind her and she flinched. She hadn’t even heard anyone else enter the room. “You’re wasting your time with this line of questioning. The witness has been through a traumatic event. To expect her to relay the exact details of what occurred is unreasonable. To expect her to do this multiple times, completely illogical. Not to mention your hours of interrogation are highly unethical. You are just trying to scare her into admitting something she did not do.”

Pornstache scoffed at this, but did not confirm or deny what the new voice said. “And who are you to tell me how to question my witness?”

“Detective Otonashi. And from this moment on this is my witness and my case. You are excused.”

Pornstache looked enraged at the so-called detective’s audacity, but before he could approach him, receding hairline guy had grabbed him by the arm and nodded his head towards the door, where their boss stood making a “come here right now” gesture while tapping his foot impatiently. The two horrid officers _finally_ , begrudgingly, left the room.

Misa sighed in relief as her two torturers left her and finally turned to face her savior. He was a strange looking man with wild, black hair that went out in every which direction. He was wearing a white long-sleeved t-shirt and a raggedy pair of jeans that looked like they were only a few washes away from completely falling apart. He wore white sneakers that were covered in mud and it looked like he had no socks on underneath. When she finally looked up into his face, she found the darkest eyes she’d ever seen in her life as well as the darkest bags underneath them, as if the man had not slept in the last decade. Despite his exhausted appearance, he looked rather young for a detective, as if he were only a few years her senior. No matter what he looked like or how much experience he had, he had gotten rid of those nasty cops, and for that she was grateful.

Before she could thank him, the strange man began again. “Amane Misa. Age eighteen. You graduated from Katsura High School two months ago. You started your modeling career last fall and just got signed on to do an issue with Eighteen Magazine last week. It is nice to meet you, I’m a big fan.”

Misa was slightly taken aback, and an embarrassed blush graced her face. “Oh, t-thank you.” Misa replied.

“Let’s go get some ice cream.” And with that, Otonashi-san turned on his heel and left the room.

“Ehh?!?!” Misa called out, rushing after him. Just who was this guy?

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Despite it being the early morning, the two did not have to go far for ice cream. Otonashi-san’s driver had some waiting for them in the back of his car. The old man looked like a stereotypical butler, with his nice suit and bowler hat, and he bowed to her when she reached the car. The little crinkle in his smile made her feel safe and loved, reminding her of her Ojiisan, though he too had passed some time ago.

Otonashi opened the door for her and she scooted into the far side of the car. He climbed in after her and sat down on his feet in a weird little hunch instead of on his ass like a normal human being. Misa couldn’t help but laugh a little at this strange man, but she immediately blushed at her rudeness.

“Oh, sorry Otonashi-san…” She trailed.

“That’s quite alright.” He handed her a dish of strawberry ice cream and grabbed one of chocolate for himself. “Eat up. It’ll make you feel better.”

Misa didn’t usually eat sweets, but ice cream was her guilty pleasure, and she needed something to brighten her mood after the shit she just went through.

“Thank you.”

They ate their ice cream in silence, the only sounds that of traffic as the car cruised down the road and the light fall of rain still sprinkling down. After she finished her ice cream, Misa still said nothing, turning to her window to watch the raindrops race each other across the glass.

Finally, Otonashi-san cleared his throat. “Amane-san, I know this is a difficult time for you, and you have not yet processed all that has happened in the last twenty-four hours, but unfortunately, I must ask you a few questions.”

Misa nodded slowly, but did not meet his eye.

“Amane-san… do you know what your mother did for a living?”

“Yes,” she breathed, but stopped herself from saying anymore.

“I’m sure your mother swore you to secrecy to protect your family’s livelihood, but you can be honest with me here. I knew your mother.”

Misa eyes slightly widened at that, but once she thought it over it made sense. A detective comes out of nowhere to work on her parent’s case, whisking her away from the local officers. He knew this case was important, which means he must also know…

“She was a detective… like you.”

“And do you know what alias she went by?”

“Deneuve.”


	2. Wait For It

Chapter 2

May 20, 2003

07:14

Misa moved fitfully under the covers of her king-sized bed in the hotel suite Otonashi had rented for the two of them. He gave her the bigger room and he moved to one of the smaller ones on the opposite side of the living area. The detective had encouraged her to try to get a few hours of sleep in before they needed to start their day, but the teenager was restless and knew sleep would continue to evade her.

She thought back to her conversation with him in the car and pondered over his theories. If what he said was true, her sister could be in danger, and Mako hadn’t answered any of her calls or texts. A great sense of doom began to overwhelm Misa and she curled up in a ball as she tried to close her eyes once again.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

05:02

“Did your mother share this secret with everyone in the family? How long have you known?” Otonashi questioned while grabbing a fistful of sugar cubes that had also been stored in the back of the car.

“Since she retired four years ago. Or, well, _I’ve_ known since she retired. I think my sister knew earlier than that, and I guess my dad always knew.”

Otonashi nodded along as he placed one sugar cube on his tongue. “Your sister is much older than you, yes?”

Misa stopped watching the racing raindrops and turned to watch the older man stack sugar cubes on his tongue. Though part of her felt like she should be disgusted, the other part of her was grateful for his weird antics easing the tension. “Yes, Mako-chan is thirty-four. I think… I think I was an accident. But my parents… they never made me feel like they loved me any less.”

Otonashi swallowed his sugar and turned to face her. “I’m sure. Now your sister, she lives in Osaka, yes?”

“Yes, Mako-chan lives with her husband, Takeo-san. She’s a lawyer. She hasn’t been home since the holidays.”

“Yes, and when did you last speak to your sister? Have you been in contact since last night?”

Misa shook her head and bit her lip, trying not to think about what she came across last night. She took a deep breath and exhaled sharply. “No, I haven’t spoken to Mako-chan since Saturday. I told her all about my new gig and I was going to tell…” _No. Stop. Don’t think about it._

Otonashi lightly placed a hand on her shoulder in an awkward attempt to comfort the younger girl. “It’s okay, Amane-san. Take your time.”

Misa inhaled deeply and breathed out through her nose. _You can do this. You have to do this._ “I was on my way to my parent’s last night to tell them about the Eighteen Magazine gig. But, when I arrived… They were already…”

Otonashi wasn’t going to make her relive this part. There was no need. His team had already sent him pictures of the bodies and he could review the cause of death later without the young model’s presence. Not to mention, reliving the trauma could make her shut down again, and he had more questions to ask.

“Let’s move on, shall we?” He asked gently.

Misa nodded gratefully.

“Your mother was one of the greatest detectives in the world. She must have had some enemies. Is there anyone you can think of who carried a grudge against her and knew her identity?” Otonashi already had a working theory, but any more information Misa could give might help him fit the pieces of the puzzle together more swiftly.

“Only my family knew. I never told anyone.” Misa paused for a moment, a horrible thought striking her, before she turned to Otonashi and passionately declared, “Mako-chan would never do this! She loved Okasan and Otosan!”

“Yes. I don’t believe your sister did it either,” Otonashi said carefully. He removed his hand from her shoulder before continuing, “But I don’t know if I believe she kept this secret to herself.”

Misa stared him down, eyes full of questions. Why would Mako-chan tell anyone? Even Misa herself wasn’t stupid enough to tell anyone. How did this oh-so-great detective know that she wasn’t lying when she said she didn’t tell anyone?

“I know you are not a liar, Amane-san.”

Oops. She said that last thought out loud. “How do you know?”

“It takes one to know one.”

Otonashi needed to change the subject, but he needed to be delicate in how he brought this next matter up. He did not want to further freak the girl out, but sensitivity was not his specialty.

“Amane-san, have you tried reaching out to your sister?”

Misa shook her head, “Well, I tried calling her from the police station, but there was no answer.”

“Could you try again?”

“Now?”

“Yes.”

It was five in the morning, Misa doubted Mako-chan would be up this early, but she did need to know what happened. Misa wasn’t sure she’d be able to get through the words. She started shaking again.

“You don’t have to say anything.” Otonashi said gently, his voice low, but everything seemed so loud to her now. “You just have to dial the number.”

Misa nodded, but her hands were still trembling so badly, she needed something to hold on to that could ground her. Without thinking, she grabbed the older man’s arm in a death grip with one hand while she fumbled with her phone with the other. Otonashi didn’t seem to mind though and watched patiently as she dialed her sister’s number.

 _Ringring… ringring… ringring… ringring… ringring…_ Nothing.

Misa looked up to Otonashi and he nodded for her to try again.

 _Ringring… ringring… ringring… ringring…_ Nothing.

Weird. That sounded like one last ring.

Misa looked up again and saw the detective biting on his thumb, the habit making her feel more nervous as well, and she accidentally dug her nails into his arm.

“It’s alright, Amane-san. We will continue to try to locate your sister, but for now, it looks like we’ve arrived at the hotel and you should try to get some rest.”

The car parked in front of one of the nicer hotels in Kyoto and despite all its glamor, Misa felt no excitement, and instead a sense of uneasiness filled her stomach.

“Otonashi-san, what if we can’t reach Mako-chan? Should… should I be worried?”

Before the detective could speak again, Misa rushed out “And don’t lie to me! Please.”

Otonashi bit down on his thumb again, thinking over his words carefully. “I think it was very lucky that you were held up at the train station.”

She stopped breathing. Oh. _Oh._

“And?”

“And… I hope your sister was equally as lucky.”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

07:35

_Amane Kiyoshi. Male. Fifty-eight years old. A former businessman who had been living a peaceful life in retirement with his wife of thirty-five years. Found lying on his side with an arm outstretched reaching towards the kitchen landline. The victim had multiple stab wounds among his torso, but the cause of death was a slash to the throat. The size of the stab wounds and deep slit at his throat indicates a bigger weapon than a knife, perhaps a machete._

_Amane Mary. Female. Fifty-four years old. Born Mary Thurston. A housewife who seemed to spend a lot of time traveling to other countries. The victim was found lying on her back on the living room floor, jaw hanging open. Multiple stab wounds along the abdomen, chest, and arms. Cause of death: blood loss. No evidence of sexual assault._

_The victims are survived by their two daughters, Okamoto Mako and Amane Misa. Okamoto Mako is thirty-four years old, married to Okamoto Takeo, and works as a lawyer in Osaka. Amane Misa is eighteen and recently signed on with a modeling agency in Tokyo. According to the neighbors, neither daughter has been home in quite some time due to their busy work schedules._

_The back-door’s lock was busted. Each room had been searched with doors left open, cabinets emptied, and beds overturned. Amane Misa reports that her mother’s laptop was stolen as well as 125,500,075_ _¥. No other goods were stolen, the TV and jewelry left behind. Burglars seemed to have been searching for something… or someone. None of the neighbors heard anything out of the ordinary and no fingerprints were found at the site._

L read over the notes his investigators had sent him about the crime scene and rubbed at his eyes. He had not slept in the last thirty-five hours. He had just wrapped up a case on a serial killer in Shanghai when an alert showed up on his laptop from a certain someone he had not heard from in a very long time.

Deneuve. It was weird to think that Deneuve was actually dead. When L had met the woman four years prior, she had been a strong, difficult woman, unwilling to part with her alias until the younger man beat her in a battle to determine who deserved the title of greatest detective in the world. She was so unlike Eraldo Coil, who was very willing to give his alias up to L and retire with his wealth. No, she still had something to prove to the world, to herself, and she wanted to see if L truly was the best detective of them all.

The alert had arrived at 22:45 on May 19th.

“Deneuve is dead.” Followed by the location of what he would find to be her home.

L had booked the next flight to Kyoto. It was unlike him to directly show up to site during his investigation, and often times he solved cases right from his home in England, but this was different. This was Deneuve. And he had to get to the bottom of this.

Deneuve had been a clever woman, clever enough to be deemed the third greatest detective in the world, but perhaps she had been too trusting. She was not an easy woman to find, it had taken L ages to track down her real identity, so it was unlikely that there was a criminal mastermind out there who unearthed it. He still constantly received requests to all of his aliases about identifying the others.

No, L was quite sure no one had just figured out the former detective’s identity. She simply made the mistake of being too trusting of her family.

He could rule Amane Misa out. She was not a liar and she had known for the least amount of time. By the time she knew, her mother’s career was over, and so it probably never even came to mind to share that information with others. Or perhaps she wanted to prove herself to her parents by keeping the secret safe, being that she was the younger child and she did seem quite passionate.

Amane Kiyoshi… He was retired as well and had known the longest. If he had gone all that time without revealing the secret, it was unlikely he would slip up now. According to testimonies from their neighbors, he also did not leave the house often. He seemed to be enjoying time with his wife since her retirement from the business before his untimely demise.

Okamoto Mako. The older sister, a sharp lawyer, but perhaps not sharp enough to keep her family’s secret. She was married to her high school sweetheart, Okamoto Takeo. The two had been married for ten years, and yet, no children. Did Okamoto Takeo know of his in-law’s career?

L did not trust the Okamotos. He had sent his investigators to the Okamoto residence after they finished up at the Amane residence and no one was home. Furthermore, Amane Misa was unable to connect with her sister when she called.

What would Okamoto Mako have to hide? Amane Misa believed very passionately that her sister had nothing to do with this and the neighbors seemed to believe that the daughter had a very friendly relationship with parents that was only strained by work. She had no reason to turn against her family and then run. And if his assumptions were correct, looking at the violent manner of the deaths, this was a revenge plot. There was a high probability that Okamoto Mako was in danger.

There was also the matter of the phone ringing less the second time she called than the first, which was odd. But if she was being held hostage, surely her kidnappers would have answered the phone and attempted to lure Amane Misa to them while asking for ransom. Assuming that the kidnappers had her phone…

Who would ignore a call and dismiss it like that? Someone who had something to hide. Okamoto Takeo?

Yes, L was quite sure that Deneuve’s son-in-law had the phone. He was guilty of something. At best, he was guilty of sharing the secret of his in-law’s previous employment. At worst, murder and holding his wife hostage.

L dumped a handful of sugar cubes into his coffee and took a big gulp. Today was going to be a long day. He had more questions he needed to ask Amane Misa about her brother-in-law’s character, but he would let the teenager rest for now, as much as she could. He had a feeling if he pushed her too much, the girl might bite. She seemed very much like her mother in that way.

For now, all he could do was wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lmao here I am at 3am posting another chapter. It will probably be awhile before the next one, so I wanted to get this one out now. This next week is going to be very busy for me, but I'll write whenever I can. 
> 
> I hope you all liked L's point of view. I tried my best to write it with the way his thought process seems to be. Hope it wasn't too out of character!


	3. Let's Go Get This Bastard

Chapter 3

May 20, 2003

09:52

Misa awoke, bleary eyes adjusting to the light pouring in from the window. Her entire body ached, and her head still hurt from lack of sleep. Looking at the clock, she might have slept for two hours, but her body felt like she hadn’t slept at all. She didn’t remember sleeping and she hadn’t had any dreams.

Reality crushed her all at once and tears rose in her eyes once again. _This is my new reality. My parents are dead and I have no idea who would do this._

Misa curled into a ball on her side and continued to weep. If only Mako-chan were here, she would know what to do. Why hadn’t she answered Misa’s calls? Where was she?

Misa rubbed at her eyes and tried to compose herself before dialing her sister’s number once again. Yet again there was no answer, making tears fall anew.

Suddenly, there was a light knock at the door, and Misa shot out of bed. She got up far too quickly though and fell back down on her ass, head spinning just a bit.

“S-sorry! Just a minute!” She called as she tried to get herself together, fixing her hair and clothes.

“Amane-san, there’s breakfast and tea in the kitchen if you would like some.” Otonashi called back.

Misa quickly opened the door and nodded enthusiastically. “Thank you, Otonashi-san!”

The detective gave a small smirk, as if he found something amusing, but all he said was, “No need to thank me, we ordered room service.”

Misa followed Otonashi into the kitchen and found the nice, old butler man from the night before had set out their plates, utensils, and mugs at the counter. Misa hopped up onto one of the stools and gave a polite bow to the elder man before digging into her small bowl of rice. While the model ate, Otonashi stood nearby sipping on his tea and periodically adding more sugar cubes to it. Watari eyed the detective, seemingly trying to convince the man to eat as well with just a look, but the younger man wouldn’t meet his eye. Neither man implored her to speak on anything just yet, and for that she was incredibly grateful. It was nice to enjoy a meal again and pretend that everything was normal.

The trio stayed in this amiable silence until the blonde finally finished her meal. She thanked the two men once again, and they both waved her off kindly, telling her it was the least they could do. A small sense of dread filled the girl’s stomach as she realized what the rest of the day would entail. They still had a murderer to find and her sister seemed to be missing. 

“Amane-san, do you mind if we continue from where we left off last night?” Otonashi asked, moving to the couch in the main living area and beckoning her to follow him.

She silently strode over and sat on the opposite end, nodding quietly.

“Amane-san, do you have any idea where your sister or brother-in-law might be right now? What would they be doing at this time of day?”

“Mako-chan would be at work, talking cases over with clients. Takeo-san would be at work too, at the office.”

“Can you write down the addresses for us?”

Misa nodded and scribbled on a pad Watari provided for her before passing it back to the elder man.

Otonashi turned to his butler and said, “Have Wedy scout those areas for us and bring back word if she finds anything.”

“Hai,” Watari replied before leaving the room.

There was still a tension in the air and Misa knew the detective had more to say to her but was trying to find the right way to word it. She fidgeted with her skirt as she waited, the anxiety washing over her again.

“Amane-san, can you think of any reason your sister wouldn’t answer her phone?”

“No,” the girl replied softly, “Not unless… she didn’t have it.” Misa’s eyes widened and as they met Otonashi’s she realized he had reached the same conclusion.

Before she could start to panic, Otonashi raised his hands up and quickly said, “We don’t know what that means yet. It doesn’t confirm that your sister is in danger. It could be that someone else has it.”

Misa tried to take a few steadying breaths, “W-who do you think has i-it?”

Otonashi answered with a question of his own, “Does your brother-in-law ever hold onto your sister’s phone?”

“Takeo-kun? I don’t- I don’t think so.” A small pout came to the model’s face. Now she was just confused.

“Do you think there is any possibility that Takeo-kun knows about your mother’s former career?” 

“Ehhh? Why would he know that? It’s a family secret!”

“Is Takeo-kun not considered family?”

“W-well…” Misa stared off into the distance. Mako-chan and Takeo-kun had been together for quite some time, and they were married. Maybe Mako-chan decided he could be let in on the secret because the family loved and accepted him. Although Misa couldn’t imagine her sister doing that without asking for her parent’s permission first.

“Amane-san, if you were Takeo-kun and you had found out your mother-in-law who used to be a famous detective had recently been murdered, what would you do?”

“I’d protect Mako-chan.”

“How?”

“I’d hide.” Misa paused, her train of thought meeting the young detective’s, where would Takeo-kun hide?

“I’d hide where no one expected me to be. I’d hide in my old house. In the attic. The entrance is hidden in my parent’s closet.”

Otonashi smiled back at her, seemingly happy with her deduction, before picking up the phone to make another call to Watari. He told the old man to send another agent named Misora to Misa’s parent’s house to search for her brother-in-law. When he got off the phone, he turned to face her again, looking serious.

“Amane-san, do you think you’d be able to face Takeo-kun and ask him some questions for me?”

“Yes! I can do it! Takeo-kun will definitely talk to me!” Misa said, a wave of enthusiasm crashing over her and she felt they were finally getting somewhere.

“Thank you, Amane-san.” Then he smirked at her once again before adding, “Your skirt is on backwards.”

“Ehhhhhh?? Why didn’t you say something before?”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

11:20

An hour later and Misa found herself seated in front of her twitchy and nervous looking brother-in-law. Before, Misa had been certain that Takeo-kun wasn’t guilty of anything besides maybe hiding Mako-chan from whoever the murderer was, but seeing him in this state made her wonder if she should be more suspicious of the man she’d known since she was a little girl.

Misa drew in a breath and remembered what Otonashi told her, she needed to be calm and approachable, but still show her grief over her parent’s loss.

“Hi Takeo-kun,” she greeted softly, “D-did you hear..?” She paused and let her eyes water a bit for dramatic effect, but this wasn’t hard to stage. “Did you hear what happened?”

“Yes,” Her brother-in-law answered, just as softly and not looking at her. “Yes I’m- I’m so sorry Misa.”

She nodded and looked down before continuing. “I couldn’t get in touch with you or Mako-chan, so I wasn’t sure… I wasn’t even sure if you were both still-” She cut herself off, stifling a sob with her hand. Acting was much easier when it was mostly true.

“I’m so sorry Misa, I-I should have answered the phone. You must have been so worried. I’m so sorry.” Takeo had finally looked back at her and was now reaching out to her. She accepted his embrace and the two cried for together, letting themselves get lost in their grief.

Several moments passed before either was able to speak without being overcome by sobs. Takeo-kun finally broke the silence, “They took Mako. They took her away last night sometime and I-I wasn’t there, but she’s not home and I-I I’m so sorry Misa, this is all my fault.”

Misa let go of him and pulled away, “What? What do you mean? Who took Mako-chan?” She tried to sound scared and not accusing. She needed him to open up to her so they could find Mako-chan and whoever did this.

Takeo dropped his head into his hands, unable to meet her eye once again. “Misa, I’m so sorry. We needed money, and he promised me money if I… but then he went back on our promise and now Mako is gone and it’s all my fault.”

Needed money? Misa waved that thought away and bent down to Takeo’s level. “Takeo-kun, please tell me. I need to know who took Mako-chan so we can get her back. Everything will be okay, please just tell me.”

“He-he called himself The Professor.” Takeo sniffed.

“The Professor?” Misa repeated. She had heard that name before, but she couldn’t quite remember where. But she had another more pressing question she needed to ask.

“What did you tell him, Takeo-kun?”

“I…”

“Takeo-kun, please.”

“…”

Something in Misa suddenly snapped. She couldn’t play the nice guy anymore. She knew what Takeo had done and she couldn’t stand beating around the bush any longer.

Misa grabbed the front of Takeo’s shirt, demanding that he look her in the eye as she shouted, “Why did you tell him, Takeo-kun? Why did you tell him about my mom?”

The grown man tensed, putting his hands up in surrender, “I’m sorry! I’m sorry Misa! Please-”

“Amane-san, that’s enough. We have what we need.” Otonashi gently called while stepping into the room.

Misa stood frozen to the spot, embarrassed by her actions. She didn’t usually snap like that.

The detective nodded to Watari who grabbed Takeo out of her clutches and pulled him away into another room in their huge hotel suite. The whole time her brother-in-law called back to her, crying and begging for forgiveness.

Misa straightened her posture and brushed down her skirt once again. She cleared her throat. “So, who’s The Professor?”

“A drug lord from America that your mother busted ten years ago. It appears he escaped prison.”

“What’s his _real_ name?”

“Lind Tailor.”

“Okay.” Misa turned to Otonashi and smiled. “Okay, let’s go get this bastard!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, sorry for the late update and I know these chapters have been pretty short. I promise the next one will be longer! Got lots to cover in the next one! Hopefully it won't take as long as this one did!


	4. I Had My Suspicions

Chapter 4

May 20, 2003

14:34

“Are you sure you are comfortable with this plan, Amane-san?”

“Yes,” the model nodded, though she didn’t stop fidgeting with her skirt.

“Do you want to go over it again?”

She nodded again but said nothing.

L took her hands away from her skirt and rubbed small circles on the backs of them. He had heard this was a comforting technique and he hoped he’d be able to calm the girl’s nerves before she had to face the day. He did not doubt her ability, she had done quite well with Takeo up until the end, but he was worried that her temper or anxiety might cause her to snap once again.

“We will drop you off at your parent’s house. You will clean things up, make arrangements for the funeral, and go about a normal routine. Take a shower, cook dinner, and reach out to friends, but try not to be on the phone too much. My team will be watching you the entire time from a hidden location and will intercept the suspect when he arrives.”

“Are you sure he will fall for that?”

“Tailor is determined in his revenge; he is not considering how he may be caught at all. Otherwise he would have…” L stopped himself, she didn’t need to know that Tailor likely would have murdered Takeo or framed him for the crime if he were being careful. “He would expect you to go back to the house, most likely he is waiting for you to do so. Amane-san is a great actress, I do not believe he will find anything out of the ordinary.”

The girl went quiet again, staring out the car window and taking in the sights of the city. Her whole body was still very tense.

“Where will you be?” She suddenly whispered.

“I will be watching the entire time from a nearby location.”

This seemed to be more reassuring to her, and she gave out a deep sigh of relief. She continued to hold onto his hands for the rest of the car ride, and the two sat in silence.

L was not particularly used to this kind of physical contact, such an innocent touch, and especially not with such a cute woman, but he oddly found it to be quite soothing. Even after their hands became clammy from the sweat, he was not displeased. Her hands were soft and nice, and he was quite content to hold on to them.

But these thoughts were not productive. He ignored them and went back to thinking over the logistics of how he and his team would set up around the house to watch the young model and look for any threat of danger.

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14:57

Misa took in a shaky breath as she faced her former home. _I can do this. I can do this._ But she never was very good at lying.

Otonashi gave her a gentle squeeze on her shoulder and a small, awkward smile. She smiled back, appreciative of the man’s attempts to help her feel at ease. She didn’t know if she was ready to leave his side just yet. He and Watari had been so kind to her, and although going through something like your parents being murdered could never be painless, they had brought the comfort she so desperately needed without being smothering. During her short time with them, she never felt like they pitied her, but she also never felt like they treated her as just another job. They cared, but not too much. It felt sincere, calming. She was never the best at deciding who to put her trust in, but this time she sensed she had gotten it right.

Another deep breath, and she took a step out of the car. She counted her breathing as she took one step after the other and tried not to look back but couldn’t help it when she got to the door. The tinted windows didn’t allow her to get a good view of either man, but she was sure they were giving her small smiles and encouraging her to go forward.

_I can do this. I can do this._

After unlocking the door, Misa shut her eyes and walked into the living room, mindful of her breathing coming out unevenly. She knew that Watari had called someone to come clean up the scene before her arrival, but she couldn’t convince herself that she wouldn’t see the blood again when she opened her eyes. She counted in her head before opening her eyes and everything came crashing down on her.

There was no blood, but the house was still a mess from having been searched. The mess wasn’t what bothered her though, it was the feeling inside the house. It was so… empty. Her parents house wasn’t supposed to be like this. It was always full of laughter and love and now there was nothing. She was all alone.

Their house was a mix of Japanese and European styles. The living room had the traditional tatami mats on the floor, the low table, and the floor pillows, but also had bookshelves on the far end with pictures of the family in it and an armchair next to it. Misa fixed the overturned table before making her way over to the shelves and staring at her family pictures. There was one with the typical “live, laugh, love” frame. If only life were so simple.

Not quite ready to face the kitchen, Misa went to her own room first. The bed had been overturned and the closest had everything tossed out of it, so she set to work putting everything back into place. She hadn’t stayed in this room in months, and now she would probably never sleep in it again. She had gotten an apartment with some friends in Tokyo, and it was nice enough, but it hadn’t felt like home. Now nothing felt like home. Now she was just numbly walking through a nightmare.

She cleaned up her sister’s room next, and then her parents’. She even went up into the hidden attic and kicked over the area Takeo had set up for himself when he’d been hiding up there. _What a little bitch._

She went into her mother’s old office after that. Her mother’s laptop had been stolen and several of the cabinets were now empty. Even the hidden safe had been broken into. Misa thought back to when she thought her mother just did transcription work from home and had to keep confidential records of patients. She’d been amazed when she found out her mother had been a detective. Her mother had been a very passionate woman, a clever woman, but Misa never would have guessed that she solved some of the worst crimes in the world. When you’re young you think your parents are superheroes, but when you get older you don’t expect it to actually be true.

_“Okasan, will you tell me the story of how you became a detective?”_

_“Of course, Misa-Misa, sit down and let me do your hair, and I will tell you…_

_I was seventeen years old when I solved my first case. I was attending university in London with your father, he was an exchange student, and we had decided to go to this famous art gallery one day in December. Well, it turned out that earlier that day, eight of the paintings had been stolen. The investigation was mostly focused on getting the paintings back, and they missed out on some clear evidence on the thieves._

_I decided to make the date with your father a little more interesting. I discovered that one of the panels of an unused door had been cut out. So, then it was only a matter of tracking down who would have the tools to do so._

_There was this former ambulance driver who was out of a job and in desperate need of money, he had the tools and he lived on the south side of London. While your father tracked him down, I questioned the employees who worked at the museum. It was obvious it had been an inside job, not many people knew about the unused door._

_There were two guys I had found particularly suspicious; they were too apathetic about what had happened while the other employees were on edge. So, I told them the other guy had already squealed to the cops about what they did. They ignored me at first, but then after I finally got the superintendent to examine the door, they panicked and ran for it. I followed them and it led me right to the paintings, with the superintendent and his team running behind me. Your father dragged in the other guy as well. The case was solved, and the paintings were found._

_Of course, the superintendent took all the glory in the press, but it didn’t matter. I was so proud of myself for figuring it out. Your father encouraged me, and I demanded the superintendent give me a job. He told me it had to be a secret, no one could know he hired a girl, and I’d have to use a codename. I chose the last name of one of the men we caught, Deneuve._

_And that’s how I got my start.”_

_\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

17:09

Misa spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning the place up, even attending to her father’s garden in the back, but she still ignored the kitchen. She couldn’t find it in her to cook anything and she was too scared the murderer would come by while she was exposed to take a shower. She felt absolutely disgusting, but still unmotivated to do anything about it.

She was able to call the funeral home and scheduled an appointment for the next day. The man on the phone had been very kind and assured her he would take care of everything and give her parents the funeral they deserved. She already knew her parents wished to be cremated and wouldn’t want a big ceremony.

Their family had been very small, both her parents had been an only child and her father’s parents had died years ago. She never knew her mother’s parents, and from her mother’s stories, she didn’t want to. It would only be her, Mako, Takeo (if he was even allowed), and maybe a few of her father’s old business pals. The neighbors might want to come too. The more she thought about it, Watari and Otonashi might show up as well. Otonashi did say he used to know her mother, she wondered how close they had been.

Being alone was starting to take its toll on Misa. She missed her family. She missed being around people in general. She didn’t know who to call that wouldn’t just pity her or do that awkward apology thing people do when they don’t know what else to say when someone’s died. She desperately wanted all of this to be a long, awful dream that she would soon wake up from.

Sitting here, just waiting, was making her go insane. Every creak, every rustle now had her on edge. Was it late enough for the killer to show up? Or would he wait later into the night? Would she even see the man before Otonashi apprehended him?

Finally, Misa got up to go take a shower, knowing the longer she waited the more likely she’d encounter the killer in a vulnerable situation. She showered quickly and lazily dressed in an oversized t-shirt and some thigh-high stockings. She laid down on her bed and started counting in her head, trying to ignore the grumbling in her stomach.

_This will all be over soon_ …

Misa suddenly woke up to what sounded like the back door opening. She hadn’t even realized she’d fallen asleep. Looking at the clock, it was almost 20:00, the same time it had been the night before. Misa quietly snuck out of bed and grabbed her lamp to defend herself with, adrenaline running through her and making her shake. She hid on the other side of her door, trying to quiet her breathing, waiting to hit whoever walked in.

She could hear the intruder getting closer and wondered where the hell Otonashi and his team could be. He wouldn’t let anyone get to her, would he? As she listened closely, she realized the intruder was not overly cautious and was going about the house in a far too familiar manner. It was someone who knew the layout of the house.

Misa quietly peaked her head outside of her door and whispered when she spotted him, “Takeo-kun? What are you doing here?”

“Misa!” He called back, far too loudly. “I was just, I was just going to hide again in case…”

“In case the killer came back?”

“Y-yes.”

“Well shut up, you’re being too loud, come hide in here.” Misa was annoyed. She did not want to see her brother-in-law right now, but she needed to ensure that he didn’t jeopardize their scheme.

As Takeo started to approach her, she realized something was off about him. He was trembling, and it looked like he was hiding something behind his back.

_Oh._

Takeo continued to timidly walk forward, and as soon as he was in range, Misa threw open her door and hit him on the head with her lamp, knocking him out cold. His head was bleeding, but rather than let herself freak out, Misa bent down to check what he was carrying. A long, silver dagger had fallen to the floor when she knocked him out, and Misa was certain he had been planning to attack her. Letting the fear turn to rage, Misa kicked him in the stomach and let out a huff.

But before she could relax after knocking out her would-be attacker, Misa sensed another presence in the house and readied her lamp again. Misa swung around to hit whoever was behind her, but the man quickly caught it and called out, “Misa, it’s me.”

Looking up, Misa saw Otonashi’s wide eyes. “Oh! Sorry Otonashi-san!” She quickly bowed in apology and moved away from the scene to let the detective inspect it.

Otonashi got down into a crouch and carefully picked the weapon up with a cloth, examining it. His other hand kept his thumb to his lip as he talked around it, “This is not the murder weapon.”

“Eh? How can you be sure?”

“The stab wounds on your parents’ bodies indicated a bigger weapon, like a machete. This doesn’t match the cut at your father’s neck either. Yes, I’m certain this is not it.”

“Then why did he have it on him? Why was he going to attack me?” Misa huffed.

Otonashi continued worrying at his thumb. “I’m not certain he was.”

Misa’s eyes widened at this. “Oh no… does that mean I attacked him for no reason?”

“Not necessarily, there is a chance he was going to threaten you. We’ll need to question him.” Otonashi suddenly got to his feet and unceremoniously threw Takeo over his shoulder and carried the man into the living room. Despite his slender frame, Otonashi was stronger than he looked, he didn’t tense or show any strain at all during the trip. He set the unconscious man in the armchair and then handcuffed the man to the bookshelf with a long chain.

“Amane-san, can you go get some cold water?” He called, and only then did Misa realize that he had called her by her first name when he arrived. She’d like to hear him say it again.

“Hai!” She responded, but turning to the kitchen, a wave of nausea and fear crashed over her.

Before she could say anything, Otonashi lightly placed his hand on her shoulder and said, “Sorry, Amane-san. I did not think. I will get it, just wait here.”

Misa stared at Takeo wondering just what she would say to him when he came through. Should she apologize? She didn’t really feel any guilt for what she did, but she felt like she should out of a sense of obligation. She was afraid of what that meant about herself.

Otonashi returned with a bucket of cold water and without further ado, threw it on the older man who was now his suspect.

Takeo gasped as he woke back up and stared at his two captors, scared and confused. “W-what’s going on?”

“You tell me. Why did you have a dagger on you?” Misa shot back.

The man went pale. “This-this isn’t what it looks like…”

Anger swarmed in her stomach, but before Misa could say another word, Otonashi placed a hand out in front of her, his eyes telling her he would take care of this. She stepped back and watched.

“Okamoto Takeo. How long has your wife been pregnant?” The detective asked.

Misa gasped and turned to see Takeo’s reaction. He kept his head down, looking uneasy. _Is it true? Why wouldn’t Mako-chan tell me that?_

“Three months, but what does that have to do with anything? Why am I chained up?” Takeo asked unsteadily.

“How long has your family been in debt?”

“Well, uh… I mean… what debt?”

“Your family is currently 1,434,256¥ in debt. Does your wife know about this?”

“…”

“Your gambling addiction started a few years ago, yes? You couldn’t handle having a wife who was the breadwinner. You just wanted her to stay at home and raise the kids like a normal family, but she wanted differently. You were going to file for divorce.”

“How could you possibly know all of this?” Takeo suddenly shouted. Meanwhile, Misa was trying to bite her tongue and stop herself from saying anything. How did she not know any of this?

“Okamoto Mako did what any desperate wife would do. She got pregnant, and you couldn’t leave. And now you needed a reason to handle all that debt.” Otonashi paced back and forth, not even sparing a single look at his suspect as he continued speaking. “That’s when you got in contact with Lind Tailor.”

“Wait, no, no. That’s not right. He got in contact with me. I thought it was a scam at first, I had no idea it was the real guy-”

“But you did. And you didn’t care because he offered you the money that would solve all your problems. All you had to do was provide him with a name.” Otonashi finally turned to acknowledge him, large eyes staring into panicked ones.

“I had no idea he was going to kill them!” Takeo yelled.

“Liar!” Misa finally shouted. “What else was he going to do? You knew! You knew!” Otonashi grabbed her around the waist and pulled her away from the chained man before she could do anything they’d both regret.

“Misa, I swear! I didn’t know! He was locked up. They were just emails. I couldn’t have imagined he’d break out-”

“You betrayed us!” Tears were now falling down her face. She was so frustrated, she didn’t want to cry in front of them, but all the anger gave way to misery.

“I never meant for anyone to get hurt in all this!”

“Then why were you going to pull a knife on me?” She screamed.

“He ordered me to! It was the only way to get Mako and the baby back! I wasn’t going to hurt you! I just needed to take you to him-”

“Where?” Otonashi suddenly interjected. He was still holding Misa back from attacking her brother-in-law, but he managed to follow the conversation.

“I was supposed to meet him at the slums in Kamagasaki, under the railway. I wasn’t going to hurt Misa at all, I was just-”

“Did he ask you to bring anything else?” Otonashi interrupted.

“No, just Misa. But-”

“Perfect.” Otonashi now fully picked Misa up and carried her out the door towards his car.

“Otonashi-san, wait! Set me down, what if people see?” Misa asked, completely embarrassed. What kind of a scene did they look like just now? What would the neighbors think?

“Sorry, Amane-san.” He said before setting her back on her feet. “We should move quickly. Kamagasaki is an hour away from here.”

“What about Takeo-kun? Are we just going to leave him here?” Didn’t he need to be arrested for accessory to murder or something?

“My team will take care of it.” He opened the car door for her, and she slid on in.

Being away from the house, she could finally breathe again, the tears finally stopped, and the anger subsided. She just wanted this day to be over with already.

As Otonashi got in beside her and gave Watari the directions, a sudden thought struck her.

“Otonashi-san… did you know Takeo-kun was going to show up tonight?”

“I had my suspicions.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay! Sorry for the late update, again! I thought I'd have this arc wrapped up in this chapter, but it'll have to carry on into the next. I think the real fun will begin when we get into the main story of death note, but I hope y'all are enjoying this introduction! 
> 
> Misa's mother's backstory is based on the 1966 Dulwich Gallery Art Robbery. I didn't plan that out, it just happened to line up with my timeline so I thought I'd adapt it into my story. In reality only one of the robbers was ever found, but I figured if Deneuve was there she would have caught them all. 
> 
> I'm probably not going to put it into this story because it would be too long and I'm not that great at writing cool crime stories, but I imagine that the case L, Deneuve and Eraldo Coil were testing their skills against each other on was also an art robbery or some other kind of big time robbery. Actually the Gardner Museum Theft lines up with my timeline cuz it'd be in 1999. I imagine that Wedy was behind it and L was just so impressed with how she got away with it that he hired her instead of turning her in and Deneuve and Coil were just like "okay fair" and let the case remain unsolved for the public. L might have also met Aiber during this case or maybe one before it. But that's for someone else to write. Or maybe I'll write it when I finish this story if I feel like it. 
> 
> I hope you are all still enjoying this! I'm also happy to see more L x Misa stories, I'm glad we all decided that now was the time to revive this fandom. 
> 
> Til next time!


	5. Call Me L

Chapter 5

May 20, 2003

21:32

L bit his thumb as he watched the scene before him. Before she left the car, he had placed a camera and a wire on Misa so he could see and hear everything that was happening. He had also contacted Wedy, Misora, and Penber earlier to head to Kamagasaki, and his agents were now set up around the railway watching from all sides. According to their intel, Tailor was holding Mako by himself. This would explain why he was so careful before and using Takeo. He was all alone.

L was quite sure that Tailor was without backup, but he did not want to underestimate his opponent. He had Watari set up with a sniper just in case. If absolutely necessary, L would run out from his hiding place himself and take the man down. Hopefully, it wouldn’t come to that.

Misa was approaching the meeting place with Aiber by her side, the con artist disguised as Takeo, and in the poor lighting, there would be no way for Tailor to tell the difference. As the two had communicated entirely over email, Tailor wouldn’t know what Takeo was supposed to sound like either.

L had explained all of this to the young model during their hour long car ride, and he also explained to her how Wedy had hacked into Takeo’s work computer and how they recovered all the emails to learn what was going on between the two. Checking out Mako’s desk at her place of work confirmed the pregnancy as well. The background knowledge and the answers to her many questions helped her to accept her role as the bait.

Their mission was simple: get Tailor to release Mako, figure out why he wanted Misa, and take him out before he could do anything to the blonde.

Still, L worried at his thumb. These were Deneuve’s daughters; he respected the former detective too much to let anything happen to them. This plan had to be perfect, and complexity would only create further trouble, but Misa had a penchant for spontaneity. All he could do was hope that the fear of seeing her parents’ killer would prevent any unplanned actions, but he couldn’t be sure. And if there was one thing L hated, it was uncertainty.

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Misa walked carefully towards the meeting place with Aiber holding her arms behind her back. He had also placed tape on her mouth to really sell the scene, which she wasn’t looking forward to removing later. He held her carefully as they walked, applying some pressure, but not enough to hurt. She did not like being held by a man in such a manner, but she knew everything needed to look realistic and this was a man Otonashi trusted, so she would trust him too.

As they finally reached the meeting place, Misa saw two figures standing on the other side, a man and a woman, but she could not make out their faces. She hoped that from wherever Otonashi was watching, he could see better than she could and identify the two to truly be the killer and her sister.

“I-I did as you asked. She’s here. So-so hand over Mako.” Aiber called out to the other side. In any other situation, Misa would have been impressed by his spot-on impression.

The man on the other side laughed. “Clearly you haven’t done this before. Hand the girl over first.”

“We’ll release them at the same time.” Aiber said.

“No,” there was the sound of a gun being cocked, “You hand the girl over now, or I blow your wife’s pretty head off. You’re not in a position to negotiate.”

Misa’s heartbeat increased and she pulled forward, but Aiber held her back. What was he doing? Mako was in trouble!

“What do you want with her anyway?” Aiber asked.

“It’s none of your concern. Now give me what I want and I’ll give you what you want.” The voice hissed.

Aiber tensed for a moment, but then started walking forward with Misa. She started walking forward as well, fake struggling a bit to make it look like she was trying to escape.

“Not you. Just the girl. And if either of you run, I’ll shoot you.” The voice suddenly called out again.

Misa and Aiber both seemed unsure, but as if their faith in their detective and his plan hit them at the same time, he released her, and she started to shakily walk forward.

Misa told herself she wasn’t in any real danger. Otonashi was watching and he hadn’t let anything happen to her up until this point, but she was still scared. She tried to move a little faster and the closer she got, she was finally able to make out the faces of the people in front of her.

To her immense relief and fear, it really was her sister being held hostage. She could now see that Mako’s hands were bound behind her back, her feet bound together as well, and she had been gagged. Tears were running down her sister’s face as she shook her head, trying to convince Misa to turn back. Misa then took in the appearance of her sister’s captor. He was a tall, thin man with dark hair like Otonashi’s, but well kept. He wore glasses and a suit. If he weren’t her parents’ murderer, she’d think he was kind of handsome, but instead looking at him just made her want to throw up.

Once she was in arm’s reach, the man threw her sister to the ground and pulled Misa to him, now holding the gun against her head. He began to back away slowly.

“Don’t reach for your wife until after we’ve left or I’ll shoot!” He yelled out towards Aiber.

Misa was aware they had a plan. Misa knew Otonashi wasn’t going to let anything happen to her. She knew that he had a team that was nearby watching as well, but she couldn’t help it. The fight or flight reaction kicked in as soon as the tall man started to drag her away and all her mind could think was, “ESCAPE! NOW!”

Misa simultaneously stomped on the man’s foot and elbowed him in the throat, causing him to stutter backwards and release her. She jumped to the ground as she heard a gunshot go off and something hit the floor. Recognizing that she had not been shot, she turned around to see that someone had shot the man’s hand, causing him to drop his gun to the ground. She lunged for it before she could even think and the next thing she knew she was holding the gun to his head with one hand and ripping off the tape over her mouth with the other.

The man started to chuckle darkly, “Are you going to kill me, little girl?”

“Maybe.” She said as she pressed the gun against him more forcefully. In the background, she could hear running and someone calling out to her, but she ignored it.

“Why did you kill my parents? What did you want with me?”

“Your mother ruined my life, so I stole hers. What better way to get revenge than to murder her and fuck her daughter? Though I’ll admit she wasn’t supposed to die so quickly. I was hoping she could watch. Too bad.” The man continued to laugh at her apparent struggle. “Don’t you want to pull the trigger? Do it. Kill the bastard who murdered your mother.”

Misa hesitated. She wanted to. She really, really wanted to. He deserved it; he was a sick criminal who ruined lives. It was her right to erase such filth from the earth. He was right, she should just pull the trigger.

“Misa,” a woman’s voice called softly. “Misa, please listen to me. I know you’re very angry right now, and you have every right to be, but just think about what you’re doing.”

Misa suddenly realized it was the voice of the officer who had placed a blanket around her shoulders the other night. She turned slightly to examine the woman. She was beautiful, with straight, black hair and a slightly muscular build hidden underneath her black clothing. She had a friendly smile just like she did when she promised Misa justice last night. That seemed so long ago now.

“He killed my mother.” Misa’s voice broke and she felt the tears running down her cheeks. All she could see through her vision was the small smile of the woman in front of her.

“I know. And I know you want justice, but trust me, this isn’t it.” The woman’s voice was soothing, and Misa wanted to believe her, she really did, but she had seen how the system had failed people before.

“Then what is? A system that lets the privileged get away with crime?” Misa shouted back.

“I escaped once before.” Tailor taunted.

Misa faced him once again, gnashing teeth and ready to get her revenge. “Misa, please!” The woman called and the blonde paused once again.

“The system is broken, you’re right, and I’ve tried my best to bring some good to it, but even I see how it fails. But right now, right now if you pull this trigger, there’s no going back. Your mother wouldn’t want that for you. I don’t want that for you. Let go and we can figure this out together.”

Misa closed her eyes. Pictured the parents this monster had taken from her, pictured what her sister must look like behind her right now, pictured the future she’d set for her herself if she ended this man’s life, and she took a deep breath. She lowered the gun and spun around.

The beautiful agent stood before her with arms wide open and Misa rushed into them. She cried on the woman’s shoulder, letting loud sobs escape her as her whole body shook. The agent held her tightly and pet her hair gently, whispering to her that everything would be alright. In the back of her mind, Misa registered someone knocking Tailor to the ground and arresting him, but suddenly she didn’t care about that as much anymore. All she wanted to do was be held as she cried her eyes out, and she was given just that.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

May 21, 2003

0:57

“Amane-san, it’s late. You should try to get some rest.” Otonashi called as he walked into the room. She was sitting on the couch in the hotel with a blanket wrapped around her and a hot chocolate in her hands. Both had been provided by the agent from earlier, who Misa learned was named Naomi Misora.

“I’m not tired.” She said back, weakly. In all honesty, she couldn’t sleep because she was embarrassed and ashamed of the scene from earlier. She didn’t know what came over her and didn’t want everyone on Otonashi’s team to think her capable of murder. She couldn’t even face her sister, though that hardly mattered as Mako had already gone to bed after being checked out to ensure her baby was safe after being handled so roughly by Tailor.

Otonashi got into his weird crouch beside her and hummed wistfully. “You’re not a monster, Amane-san.”

“Are you sure?” She whispered, folding in on herself.

“Takes one to know one.”

Misa guffawed. “What are you talking about, Otonashi-san? You’re a hero! You solved the case! You saved me and my sister!”

“I think you saved yourself, Amane-san.” He answered sincerely.

She stared back into his wide eyes. She had never met anyone like him before. He wasn’t afraid to be himself and he was always so real with her. He wasn’t like the other men she knew, who always tried to get her attention and aggressively pursued her. She knew when he comforted her, he wasn’t looking to get anything out of it. She knew when he treated her like she was smart and capable, he really meant it. When others looked at her like she was fragile and in need of saving, he looked at her like an independent woman. Her mother always told her she fell in love too fast, but she got the feeling her mother would have approved of it this time.

“Please, call me Misa.” She whispered shyly.

“Okay, Misa.” His lips quirked up in a tiny smile that she mirrored and the two stared at each other in silence, neither wanting to break this moment. But alas, nothing lasts forever.

“Why are you still up?” She finally asked.

“I’ll be leaving soon. I have another case.” He admitted.

“Oh, well… can we at least stay in touch? I know you must have a super-secret detective life, but you know we’re having the funeral soon, and I’m sure my mom would have wanted you there. But if not, that’s okay, maybe we can exchange email? Or not, I just-”

“I’d like to be at your mother’s funeral, but it’s for the best that I don’t show up.” He said in his usual straightforward tone.

“Oh, yeah, I figured.” Her shoulders sunk and she turned away from him. He really did have a super-secret life she wasn’t allowed to be a part of.

“But,” He said suddenly, looking down like he was still thinking it over, “But, if you’d like, you can take this phone and I’ll call you when I can.” He hesitated for a second more before finally placing it in her hand. Misa set down her mug and looked the flip phone over, noting that it only had one contact. The number was probably his butler’s and he probably wouldn’t really contact her, but she’d cherish it forever.

“Some of my agents, Misora and Penber, will be staying around to help you and your sister out. They’ll check in with you every now and then.” Otonashi said.

Misa was happy to hear that Naomi would still be around. Maybe she could enlist the older woman’s help with some arrangements. They’d need to find a way to sell her parents’ old home, if anyone would take it, and Mako might want to sell her house as well. There would be a lot to do over the next few days. Otonashi would be incredibly busy as well.

“Will you be far away?” She asked.

“For some time, yes.”

“Well, I’m glad to have met you Otonashi-san.” Misa faced him once again, and before her nerves got the best of her, leaned in and kissed him gently on the cheek. Something to remember her by if they weren’t going to see each other again.

The detective tenderly placed his hand to the spot she kissed and stared forward with wide eyes. She giggled nervously, hoping she hadn’t crossed a boundary, but then he gave her that small smile again and her worries left her.

“Call me L.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry once again for the late update. I've been pretty busy with graduate school, but I should have time to make these next couple chapters come out weekly. I'll do my best to publish every Sunday or Monday. 
> 
> This ends the introductory part of the story, and I hope you like the little backstory I set up for it! For those of you who know the Death Note timeline, Light doesn't get the death note until November 28th, so there will be another short arc before then. I'm hoping to make Aiber, Naomi, Raye, and Wedy bigger characters in this story so they'll be around more and be more central in this next arc. I don't know how many chapters it will take, but Light probably won't enter the story for some time still, probably like chapter 10. I hope I'll be able to do his character justice when he finally arrives! 
> 
> I promise there will be smut! We just gotta build up to it. In the meantime, I think I'm going to do a oneshot of L x Misa that'll just be porn without plot and maybe a oneshot of Naomi x Raye as well. We'll see.
> 
> Hope y'all are still enjoying this story! Thanks for reading!


	6. Change is Good

Chapter 6

July 5, 2003

It’s been over a month since her parents passed away, but she still isn’t used to it. Every time the phone rings, she thinks it’ll be her mother asking her when she will visit or if she’s met a cute boy recently. Or maybe it would be her father telling her about his garden or how he misses cherry blossom season.

She misses them both so much, but her life has regained some sense of normalcy in the last month. With the help of Naomi and Raye, Misa managed to sell her parents’ old home. A nice old couple purchased the place and every and now then Misa visits to see if they’re still taking care of her father’s garden. The couple never seems put off by her visits and they always invite her in for tea, but she hasn’t been able to step foot in the house ever since Takeo attacked her there. She just comes to see the garden and leaves.

She’s moved into Mako’s house in Osaka, but she still travels to Tokyo for work. Mako is just over four months pregnant now and focuses all of her energy on work rather than her future baby or the divorce papers waiting on her living room table. Misa has been trying to help her sister out, but she never wants to discuss anything. She once mentioned putting the baby up for adoption, but when Misa overreacted to the idea of losing another family member, she shut it down and hasn’t let her back in since. She definitely isn’t willing to talk about Takeo.

Takeo was arrested the night he attacked Misa for accessory to murder and attempted assault. His trial doesn’t seem to be coming any time soon and Misa hasn’t gone to visit him once. She knows Mako hasn’t visited him either, but she did request the divorce. Misa doesn’t know why she won’t just sign the papers and have someone send the papers to Takeo. Naomi had offered, but Mako had told her not to worry about it, and they haven’t spoken about the papers since.

Lind Tailor was also arrested and has been charged with both murders. From what Naomi and Raye have told her, it sounds like he is headed to death row. _Good._ She thinks he deserves death, even if she wasn’t the one to take his life. She can’t even imagine what her life would be like now if Naomi hadn’t intervened.

Misa is incredibly grateful for Naomi and Raye. They both visit the house about once a week and update Misa and Mako on the case proceedings and offer to help them both out with even the simplest of tasks. Naomi even cooks dinner for them every now and then.

Raye has been very kind as well; he took over all of the funeral arrangements when Misa shut down. After L and Watari left, Misa went back to feeling all alone with a sister who would not talk to her. She tried to keep her emotions buried, but Naomi and Raye could tell she was struggling. Raye made sure the funeral was small and pleasant. Aside from family, a few neighbors and her dad’s old business partners showed up. Naomi brought a laptop that stayed in the very back, and no sound ever came from it, but Misa was sure someone was watching on the other side.

Her parents were both cremated, which made it easier for her and Mako to give their speeches. Even though she recognized the ashes as her parents, seeing a casket would have gotten her too worked up to say anything. She kept her speech short and sang her mother’s favorite song, _Amazing Grace_. Mako’s speech was very lovely, all about how their parents had been everyday heroes and how she hoped she would be able to follow in their footsteps. When it was finally over, Naomi made dinner and Raye brought some of her mother’s old case files for them to read through. Misa was happy to learn more about her mother, but Mako left the room.

While the distance between her and her sister has grown, Misa has become very close with Naomi recently. Even when she’s not visiting, they text often. Misa learned that Naomi is thinking of quitting the FBI soon and settling down with Raye in the U.S. They probably would have left for the Western world sooner, but Naomi’s mother recently became ill and she lives close by in Sakai. Although Misa wouldn’t wish anything bad to happen to Naomi’s mother, she is grateful for the couple staying longer. They’ve become a crutch for her during this time and she’s not quite ready to let go of that.

Nothing lasts forever. Misa’s stomach was filling with dread as she got home from work. She just knew that something was about to happen, but she wasn’t sure what. The feeling had left her feeling nauseated all evening.

“Misa-Misa, is that you?” Her sister called from the kitchen. Mako hasn’t called her that in a long time, which was the first sign something was up.

“Hai, Mako-chan.” Misa called as she walked in. Her sister was cooking something in the kitchen, another oddity. “What are you cooking?”

“I’m making rice balls, I’ve been craving them like crazy recently. Come help.” Mako answered. Misa joined her sister as she picked up the sticky substance and tried to shape it. Misa was much more of a baker than a cook, but rice balls were easy enough if she was just doing the shaping.

“You seem to be in a better mood today, Mako-chan. Did anything happen?”

“I’ve signed the divorce papers.” Mako replied. She looked Misa in the eye and smiled. “I’m going to take them to Takeo next week. I’m ready to move on.”

“This is a big step, Mako-chan. I’m proud of you!” Misa cheered. She returned her sister’s smile and let some of the tension fall from her shoulders. This sort of change was good, she had nothing to be worried about after all.

“Raye and Naomi will be joining us for dinner tonight. I think they have some big news for us.” Mako commented absent-mindedly as she continued to fix the rice balls. Once they were finished shaping them, she secured them with seaweed and topped them off with sesame seeds. She put them off to side and then went off into the living room to set the table.

Misa followed her distractedly, nerves getting to her again. “What kind of news do you think it is? Like Tailor is finally dead kind of news or we’re abandoning you to America kind of news?”

Mako sighed and placed her hand gently on Misa’s shoulder. “I think it’s more, we’re ready to take the next step in our lives, kind of news. You should be happy for them, Misa-Misa. This is a good thing.”

“You’re right, Mako-chan, I’m just not ready for them to leave yet.” Misa sat down on a floor pillow and fiddled with her tights. “I’ve gotten so used to having them here. I feel like they’re family.”

Mako froze at that and then sighed again, “Misa, I know I haven’t exactly been there for you recently- ”

“I don’t blame you for that at all! It’s been very hard on you recently with, well, everything! You don’t have to apologize at all!” Misa quickly interjected. The last thing she wanted was to make Mako feel guilty.

“I want you to know that I’m doing better now, really. I’m sorry I pulled away from you before, it was all just too much for me to handle.” Mako, with some help from Misa, finally sat down beside her. She held Misa’s hand and Misa stiffened at the realization that she and her sister hadn’t touched in such a long time. This was important.

“I felt it today.”

“Felt what?” Misa questioned.

“I felt the baby kick.” Mako’s eyes started to tear up. “You were right, Misa-Misa. I can’t give this baby away. I feel it now. A mother’s love. And even though I’m still scared of raising the baby on my own-”

“I’ll be with you every step of the way.” Misa finished. She reached out to her sister for a hug and finally let out a breath she didn’t even know she was holding when Mako returned the embrace.

Mako was never the emotional one, she was the perfect daughter. A lawyer who married her high school sweetheart. It was like she could do no wrong. But that all changed when Takeo filed for divorce. Mako was so desperate to keep her perfect life together, she exposed their family secret to explain why she felt the need to work so hard and to try to keep him. When that didn’t work, she had purposely trapped him with a pregnancy. And well, Misa knew how the rest of the story went.

By the time Naomi and Raye had arrived, Mako was still crying on Misa’s shoulder and she finally confessed everything she was holding close to her heart. Maybe some part of her should have been mad at Mako, but all Misa could feel was relief as her sister was finally talking to her again. There were no more secrets between them. Well, no secrets that would hurt them.

As Mako went to freshen herself up and Naomi went to the kitchen to finish preparing the dinner, Misa thought about the only secret she was keeping. She knew the identity of the greatest detective in the world and she had a phone hidden in her drawer that he had gifted her.

Over the past few weeks, Misa often found herself laying on her bed staring at the phone trying to will it to ring. _He_ had not contacted her once since they had separated. Misa tried not to let it bother her, rationalizing that he was far too busy with big cases to make time for a past client, but she thought they had developed a real connection in the two days they spent together. Anyone else would tell her she was just infatuated or clinging onto an attachment due to the loss of her parents, but Misa knew in her heart that she loved the detective.

She thought about him all the time. She often found herself listening to songs that made her think of him or buying sugar cubes and coffee to keep in the house just in case he visited. Mako often munched on the sugar cubes and Misa had become a heavy coffee drinker herself once she became a model, so she was always buying more. She even found herself baking, thinking about the detective and his sweet tooth. Although her baked goods usually went to Naomi and Raye or to Mako when she was having cravings.

It was strange, he was not the kind of drop-dead gorgeous man she thought she would fall in love with. Although others might think the man looked creepy, Misa was attracted to his unique appearance. She loved his unkept hair and his tall, thin physique. She knew he was much stronger than he looked from the time he had lifted her up. She often found herself fantasizing about him picking her up bridal style and carrying her off to some romantic picnic. She was pathetic and she knew it.

Noticing her wistful expression, Raye cut in, “Are you thinking about _him_ again?”

Misa flushed at being called out, but nodded sheepishly. In the short amount of time that they had spent with her, Naomi and Raye had quickly noticed the model’s crush on their boss. They both seemed to regard it as cute and would often answer what questions they could. Raye had not worked with him prior to her parents’ case, but Naomi had worked with him back in the U.S. for some case involving a man named BB.

_“I only met him once before,”_ Naomi had told her. _“I thought he was so strange. He tried to give me a hug and I kicked him.”_

Misa had giggled at that image, Naomi was such a badass and he was so weird, she bet it was quite the sight to behold. Naomi wasn’t able to tell her much about the case, but it seemed like BB was someone he had known and had a complicated history with. Misa desperately wanted to ask him more about it and all his other cases.

“You might expect a call from him soon.” Raye told her, distracting her from her thoughts.

“Oh-” before she could say much else, Mako returned to the table.

“What are we talking about in here?” Mako asked as Raye helped her settle down at the table.

“Oh, nothing! Nothing at all!” Misa blushed. She wore her heart on her sleeve and it screwed her over every single time.

“Ah, does Misa-Misa have a crush? And you won’t tell your sister about it?” Mako teased.

Before she could interrogate Misa much further, Naomi returned to the table with dinner. “Come on now, we’ll have time to question Misa later. For now, let’s dig in!”

Everyone thanked her for the meal and they all dug into their meal of soup, rice balls, and cooked vegetables. They all stayed quiet as they enjoyed their food, but Misa noticed Naomi and Raye exchanging small smiles. Something had definitely happened recently, and although she should be happy for them, Misa couldn’t stop the nausea from returning and pushed her unfinished meal to the side. Mako noticed her sister’s change in behavior but made no comment.

When every once else finished their meal, Naomi finally addressed the table. “So, we have some exciting news we wanted to share with you.” She took Raye’s hand in hers and they both smiled at each other.

“I finally proposed to Naomi last night,” Raye began.

“And I said yes!” Naomi finished, showing off her new ring to the sisters. It was a nice simple band, nothing too flashy, and absolutely perfect for Naomi.

Mako took her hand and squealed, “Oh! This is wonderful news! And such a lovely ring, Raye! You did a great job!”

“Thank you, though I admit, Naomi’s mother helped me pick it out.” Raye laughed.

The two were so cute together and Misa knew she should be happy for them, but instead all she felt was empty. She wasn’t ready for her friends to move on with their lives. She selfishly wanted to keep them by her side forever, but she wouldn’t dare ruin their happiness. _You’re a terrible person, Misa._

Naomi noticed her quiet behavior and turned to her with a worried expression, “Is everything alright, Misa?”

Misa shook her head and allowed a small smile to grace her face, “Of course, I was just thinking about how I was going to make time to plan the wedding.”

“We’ll make it easy on you and keep it simple.” Raye smiled.

“When do you think the wedding will be?” Mako asked as she continued to stare at Naomi’s ring, as if it became more interesting the longer she inspected it.

“We’re aiming for fall of next year. We’re hoping to fly my parents to the States and have it in California. Of course, we’d help fly you down as well.” Naomi answered.

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that, I can pay for mine and Mako-chan’s tickets.” Misa assured. Even though she had only been with her agency for a couple months, she already had some big contracts and was making a substantial amount even for a beginner model.

“Yes, but we need to get you there early so you can help with my bachelorette party as well.” Naomi giggled. The idea of planning a crazy party did make Misa feel a little better. By that point, Mako would have already had the baby, so they could go hard and party all night long. Although, Misa would be considered too young to drink in the States.

“Do you think you’ll be going back to the States soon?” Mako questioned. Misa knew that her sister was just curious, but she wished she hadn’t asked. She almost felt better not knowing.

“Ah, well we have another case we have to work on, so much sooner than expected.” Naomi responded.

“A case?” Misa perked up. Would they be working with _him_ again?

“I don’t really know the details about it yet, but we’re supposed to leave tomorrow.” Raye said.

“Tomorrow? That’s so soon.” Mako pouted. “Have you had a chance to tell your parents about the engagement yet, Naomi?”

“We told my parents this morning, but we wanted to make sure we let you know about it before we had to leave. I’m not sure when we’ll be able to visit Japan again.” Naomi said honestly.

Misa felt her shoulders fall, but she tried not to be too obvious about her disappointment. For some reason she had it in her mind that they would be taking her with them to see _him_ , but that was just ridiculous. She was just a model, what could she do to help with a case?

“I’ll still text you regularly, you know.” Naomi whispered to her. Misa hadn’t even realized she started crying until she felt the older woman’s hand wiping away her tears. “I’ll call you as often as I can, too. I promise.”

“You better.” Misa smiled through her tears.

After cleaning up, the couple gave the sisters hugs goodbye and Naomi once again reassured Misa that she would stay in touch. She was easier to believe than _some people_ , but the fear of being abandoned still ate away at Misa’s heart.

“Oh, Misa-Misa,” her sister called gently as she prepared to head off to bed. “Change is good. You’ll see.”

Misa could only hope that her sister was right.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

July 8, 2003

Misa found herself going off to work with a little less pep in her step these days. It had only been a couple of days since Naomi texted her that they safely landed in America, but the blonde was already heavily dismayed by her friend’s absence. It didn’t help that Misa didn’t feel like she had any true friends at the modeling agency. They were all surprisingly kind to her, but she mostly just felt like they pitied her after hearing the news about her parents.

Everywhere she went, Misa couldn’t escape the title of the poor model who lost her parents to a burglar. No one knew the truth about how her mother was a kickass detective and how the burglar was a big-time drug lord that Misa had almost personally executed. No one knew that Misa had been in contact with the greatest detective in the world and he had helped solve her parents’ case. No one knew that Misa’s closest friends were FBI agents who had fallen in love on one of their cases together. Misa wouldn’t dare tell anyone these secrets, but she wished people saw her as more than just a victim and recognized her as a strong and capable woman. Naomi saw that in her. _He_ saw that in her.

That night, Misa felt her sister’s baby bump for any signs of kicking, but her little niece or nephew must have been tired out from kicking their mother all day, as if they were anticipating their mother’s actions and feeling the nerves on her behalf. Misa listened to how her sister showed up at the prison herself and forced Takeo to sign the divorce papers. She told Takeo he wouldn’t have anything to do with their child and stormed out. Misa was proud of her sister acting like the tough as nails lawyer she had been in the past.

While Mako was finally getting herself back together, Misa felt like she was falling apart all over again. Maybe she wasn’t as strong and capable as she thought she was. Maybe she was just a clingy, emotional child who couldn’t survive on her own.

Her work week was over, so Misa laid on her bed staring at the ceiling and listening to sappy love songs as she ate ice cream. If any of the other models saw her right now, they’d surely make fun of her for how pathetic she was acting.

It was well past midnight when she got the call, as if the universe knew that she needed a sense of direction again, or maybe _he_ just knew.

“Misa-Misa speaking!” She tried to answer cheerfully, but her tired state made her sound more drunk than anything else.

“Hello, Misa.” L answered back in his usual monotone. “How are you?”

“L!” She gasped, and then slapped a hand over mouth. She searched outside her bedroom door as if Mako was just waiting there to catch her in the act, but no one was there. Mako had gone to sleep hours ago.

“H-hi. How are you? I’m doing really well with work and helping Mako out. Her baby started kicking! And she’s finally divorcing that awful Takeo! Isn’t that great? How are you doing? Oh, I already asked that, hehe.” Misa rambled on nervously.

L didn’t call out her awkward behavior and just answered back sincerely. “That is good news. I am doing well, I’m working on a new case.”

“Oh, is that so? Naomi and Raye left for a case the other day. Are they helping you again?” Misa twirled her finger in her hair as she tried to make small talk. There were so many other questions she wanted to ask him. _Why didn’t you call sooner? Did you miss me at all? Did you see I made it into Eighteen Magazine?_ But she didn’t want to sound like a crazy person.

“Yes, actually. In fact, my reason for calling is I need more help with the case.”

_Oh?_ “Oh? You need Misa’s help?” She tried not to sound too excited and tried to act as casual as possible. _I can see him again!_

“Have you ever been to America before, Misa?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know, this is just a really long transition chapter and despite it being one of the longest not a lot happened, but the story will pick up in the next one!   
> I ended up staying up really late the other night, so I might have time to post the next chapter today too! Right now it's looking like the main DN story won't begin until chapter 9 or 10. This is just a short little arc that will help build up L and Misa's relationship as well as give me a chance to further develop Aiber and Wedy. I always thought those two were really interesting and it's such a shame they weren't used more in the original story.   
> I also wanted to give more room for Misa to grieve and show that she's not over what happened to her parents. I know by the time she entered the DN story it had been a year since her parents' deaths, but I think it's important to show how she struggled along the way.   
> I hope y'all don't hate Mako, she's just going through a lot. She made some mistakes, but she's trying to make up for it now. She and Misa still have a lot of pain to deal with and neither of them are in therapy, so it's rough.   
> Thanks once again for reading and supporting my fic! I love seeing comments and I love reading the other LxMisa stories that have popped up on here lately. I think this is such a fun little community for this crack pairing!


	7. Showtime

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Mentions of human trafficking and drug use

Chapter 7

July 10, 2003

Misa’s flight had departed the other day at 2pm and she’d be arriving today at close to 2:30pm in Las Vegas, which meant L had another two hours to prepare himself for seeing the blonde again.

He had tried to keep his distance. He told himself he’d only endanger her by maintaining a presence in her life and she’d only be a liability for him. It was in both their best interests to forget about each other and move on with their lives. Easier said than done, especially when the person you are trying to forget is a rising idol.

When L watched the funeral from his hotel room, he told himself it was just to make sure Deneuve got a proper send off. When he bought the copy of Eighteen Magazine and found Misa’s smiling face, he told himself he was just checking to make sure Deneuve’s daughter was doing well for herself. When he asked Naomi and Raye to stay in Japan for a few more weeks, he told himself Deneuve would have wanted the extra protection for her daughters.

L was not dense. He knew he was attracted to the young model. She was a model, for goodness sake. She had beautiful natural blonde hair, big doe eyes, long legs, and a curvy, yet petite figure. It only made sense that he would be attracted to her. It was purely physical.

L had felt physical attraction before. He had even acted on it a few times in his youth, while he was still climbing the ladder on his way to becoming the world’s greatest detective. Now that he found himself at the top, he had no time for relationships, not even of the sexual kind. He rarely interacted directly with other humans anymore.

The Deneuve case was the first time he had been on site for a case since the Museum Robbery in 1999. Sure, he showed up after cases were finished every now and then, like the LABB case in 2002, but he always kept his social contact to a minimum. Watari was the only face he saw regularly in the last four years. L could count all the people he had interacted with since earning the title of the greatest detective quite easily. Watari. Eraldo Coil. Deneuve. Aiber. Wedy. Misora. Penber. BB. The chief of police in Kyoto. The two cops who questioned Misa. Takeo. Misa.

Point being, L didn’t do relationships. He didn’t even have friends. He respected Aiber and Wedy, but they worked for him. Misora and Penber he barely knew, but their work spoke for itself. BB was complicated, L wasn’t sure what their relationship was. Watari was the only person he truly loved, but even that relationship was distant as he had become more of a boss to his former caretaker.

L didn’t fall in love, so whatever magnetic power that kept drawing him back towards the beautiful, passionate young woman he met last month could only be explained as sexual. All the more reason to keep his distance and forget about her.

That was what he had been planning at least, until a new case fell in his lap about a suspicious strip club in Las Vegas that might be the center of a human trafficking circle. L had tried to gather as much intel as he could in the last week, but it became obvious to him that he would need some agents to go undercover to unearth the truth. He wasn’t planning on using Misa, initially, but after Wedy and Naomi were both rejected from working for the strip club for being “too old,” he knew he needed to go another direction.

Misa’s acting skills were quite impressive, even if they needed a bit of polishing. Her spontaneous outbursts and tendency to go off and do her own thing were not always helpful but could bring about unexpected results that might be desirable. After a long back and forth, he had successfully talked himself into it and was picking up the phone.

L was a professional. Any strange emotions he was feeling could easily be ignored or repressed. They were not helpful to the investigation, so he would cast them aside. He would just get her help for this one case and then he would never interact with her again.

.

When Misa arrived in Las Vegas that afternoon, she was overjoyed to see Watari waiting for her at the baggage claim, and jumped up to hug the elder man. If he was embarrassed by her outburst, he did not say, but he did comment on her wig.

“If I’m going to be undercover, I need to make sure no one recognizes me. I’m even wearing contacts, see!” Instead of her natural brown eyes or the usual blue contacts she wore to photoshoots, Misa had opted for green contacts this time. The contacts paired with her short black bob made her look completely different from the Misa-Misa her fans knew. Misa wasn’t too popular yet, and she hadn’t had any exposure in the Western world, but she couldn’t risk paparazzi getting word of her location and disrupting the investigation.

“Quite impressive, Amane-san. We best get going, the team awaits us at the hotel.” Watari directed her to his car out front and drove her to the hotel that would be the headquarters for this investigation. Misa was excited to see Naomi and Raye again, even if it had only been five days, and was looking forward to meeting the rest of the team.

“Will that French man be there again? What was his name?” She asked as Watari helped her collect her bags. She’d packed enough outfits for a month-long trip, not sure how long she’d actually be gone.

“Yes, you’ll meet him again when we reach the room.” Watari answered politely. The two took the elevator all the way to the top of the hotel and entered the penthouse suite. Along the way, Watari answered her various questions about what he had been up to in the past month without going into too much detail. Although she was sure she was being annoying, Watari seemed to respect her curiosity and remained polite the whole journey.

Upon entering the room, the first person Misa spotted was Naomi bringing a cup of coffee over to Raye. Unable to stop herself, Misa ran over to her friend and embraced her tightly.

“It’s good to see you too, Misa!” Naomi laughed as she returned the hug. Raye stood to give her a small hug in greeting as well, which Misa enthusiastically returned.

She then turned to meet the other two faces in the room, the French man who had pretended to be Takeo that one time, and a blonde American looking woman. She wore sunglasses and a cat suit which showed off her curvy figure. The first thought that entered Misa’s mind while looking at her was, _Maybe I’m a little gay._ She shook her head of that thought and stretched out her hand to properly greet the two.

“Hi there! I’m Misa!”

“Aiber. It’s nice to see you again, Misa.” The older man greeted.

“Wedy.” The American woman said simply while lightly shaking Misa’s hand. _She could step on me and I’d thank her._

“If everyone could please be seated, master L will be in shortly to brief you on the plan.” Watari said. “There’s plenty of coffee and sweets set up on this table. Please take as much as you want. If you’ll excuse me,” He then exited the room.

Misa sat down twiddling her thumbs nervously. She was excited to see L again, but also anxious. Should she hug him when she sees him or would that be inappropriate? Would he like the way she dressed? Would he prefer her natural look?

Misa was wearing a trench coat and thigh high boots with a six-inch heel. The outfit she wore underneath the trench coat was a black, lacy bustier with matching panties with little red bows on them. From her talk with L, she knew she would be going undercover at a strip club and dressed how she assumed strippers dressed. It had been quite the hassle getting these types of clothes without Mako noticing. Speaking of Mako, her older sister thought she was on a business trip with a foreign magazine. Misa hoped L was able to cover her in some way so that her sister didn’t get suspicious.

Just then, the eccentric detective finally entered the living room with his signature hunch. He sat down in a big chair to Misa’s left, facing all of his employees. Watari followed behind him, placing a coffee and a box of donuts on the table before him. L dipped a donut into his coffee and took a bite before addressing his team.

“As you all know, we are here to investigate the Clubhouse strip club on the south side of the city.” L began. “The strippers have all reportedly been very young and have been disappearing at an alarming rate. Most of these girls have been foreigners or women of color. Our goal is to infiltrate the club and find out what they are doing to these girls.”

“Misa, you’ll be posing as a stripper at the club. Wedy will be helping you to learn some basic moves and we’ve doctored a resume for you. You’ll be entering the club and applying for the job this evening. The wig and contacts are a nice touch.” He stated though his eyes did not meet hers. She tried to contain her blush, it wasn’t like he had given her a major compliment.

“Aiber, you’ll be posing as a client. You’ll ask around and see what kind of services the club offers. Wedy, they already know your face, but we’ll need you to set up cameras around the club, so we’ll need you to-”

“Break in.” The woman finished with a devilish smile. Misa was liking her more and more already.

“Yes. Naomi and Raye, you’ll question a few of our contacts around town and then run surveillance with me. This file contains your first three contacts and where to find them.” L slid a file over to Naomi and she quickly picked it up and examined it with Raye.

“We’ll get started on this right away.” She and Raye collected their things and stood by the door, “What time do you want us to meet back here?”

“No later than 10pm, please.” L answered and then the couple was out the door.

“Shall I go collect my tools?” Wedy asked. Misa had a good feeling by collect she meant steal.

“Not yet, I’ll need your help with something.” L then turned to Watari and nodded.

“Right this way, sir,” The elder man said as he escorted Aiber off to another room.

L thumbed at his lip, something Misa believed to be a nervous habit, before he finally faced her. “Misa, do you mind removing your coat?” 

Misa blushed slightly but nodded. She slowly unbuttoned the coat and then stood as she shrugged it off her shoulders. “I wasn’t quite sure what strippers wear, but I thought this might work.” She said shyly.

L turned to Wedy, and before even asking a question, she already had her answer. “The outfit will definitely work. The boots, not so much. We’ll need to find a more manageable heel. We also need to make sure that wig is secure.” She circled around Misa as she made her comments, reminding Misa of the photographers and fashion designers at work.

“I use a wig cap at work whenever I do photoshoots with wigs, so I’m wearing that now.” Misa said nervously.

Wedy nodded, “We should get some clips as well.” She grabbed her purse from behind her and held her hand out to L, who supplied her with cash, before walking off. “Back in a flash.”

And then there were two.

Misa could not help but feel distinctly awkward as she stood in a very sexual outfit in front of L. She decided to cover herself back up with her trench coat before sitting back down. She wondered what was on his mind. Had he thought about her at all during their month apart? Did he feel anything for her like she did for him?

“I’m really glad to see you again, L.” Misa finally spoke up.

“Likewise.” He stated in his regular monotone, though he was not looking at her.

She bit her lip and awkwardly fidgeted with the zipper on one of her boots. “What have you been up to these past few weeks?”

“Different cases.” His response was automatic. Robotic.

“Ah. Did you- did you think about me at all?” She questioned nervously, unable to face him.

“I saw your issue in Eighteen Magazine.”

“Oh? What-uh, what did you think of it?”

“It was nice.”

Misa blushed at that and said nothing more. _He checked out my magazine!_

Finally, L broke the silence, focusing on work once again. “Did you get a chance to look over the character sheet I sent you?”

“Oh, yes! I read it on the plane. I even practiced some lines in my head.”

“Good. Very good. Aiber will go over some lines with you as well.” During the whole exchange, L had not glanced over at her once, and Misa was beginning to feel very out of place. Why did he call her here? Couldn’t he have reached out to anyone else? She really thought it meant something that he had specifically asked for her help, but maybe she was just overthinking everything after all.

Just then, Aiber and Watari had reentered the room with Aiber now dressed in a V-neck t-shirt and jeans, a much more American style. Meanwhile, Watari handed L the doctored resume. “I’ll be in the other room on surveillance, just call if you need anything.” Watari said before once again exiting the room.

The three sat in awkward silence until Aiber cleared his throat. “So, should we practice what you are going to say to the club owners?”

“Oh, yes! Good idea!” Misa answered. Anything to distract her from the weird vibes she was getting from L.

“Okay,” Aiber began as he sat across from her, “First question, do you know how to speak English?”

“Yes, my mother is from Britain, so she taught me and my sister from a young age.” Misa was actually quite good at English and had excelled in school. Although her mother never took them to visit her home country, Misa felt very confident in her ability to interact with other English speakers, and she was even hoping she’d get the chance to work in America one day.

“It may be more beneficial if you pretend you barely understand it.” Aiber told her.

“Yes, with the majority of the women disappearing being foreigners, you might have a greater chance of being hired that way.” L agreed.

“Okay, got it. Anything else I should know?”

“You’re 18, correct? You should try to act like you are lying when you tell them this. Give them reason to believe that you’re younger.” Aiber added.

Misa made a face at that. “These men are pretty disgusting, aren’t they?”

“Most men are.” L said nonchalantly.

Aiber nodded, seeming to agree with that statement. “Okay, when you enter the club, the owner probably won’t just be right there at the front. You’ll go to the bartender first and ask if you can see the owner about a job.

“They’ll probably have you do an audition. Don’t worry too much about that part yet, Wedy will teach you the moves. Just remember that even if you feel insecure, that’ll probably work to your advantage because they’ve been targeting young, naïve girls.”

“When I do my audition, do you think they’ll make me remove my clothes?” Misa wondered aloud. The idea did make her uncomfortable, but she was willing to risk it all if it meant she could help these girls.

“These men, they’re the most vile type of creatures. They might ask you to do a lot of inappropriate things, but I don’t think they would so early on when they’re trying to lure you into the gig. There is a chance they might try to drug you to get you to be more obedient, though.” Aiber answered honestly.

“Drug-” Misa began. L had told her she was agreeing to something dangerous, but she didn’t really consider all the risks until now.

“We won’t let that happen. Wedy will have the entire place bugged and we’ll be watching everything that happens. Aiber will be watching.” L said. There was something different in his voice.

“Aw, L, are you worried about me?” Misa cooed. “You shouldn’t though. There’s nothing Misa can’t handle!”

“Yes, that is correct.” L said with a small smile. It was the first time he looked at her since she entered the hotel and she immediately felt warm all over.

“Right, let’s practice a few lines then, shall we?” Aiber said.

.

An hour later, and Misa was feeling much better prepared for meeting the men at the strip club. Aiber and her had gone over several different scenarios of potential conversations. At first L had gotten on to her about overacting, but by the end he seemed quite pleased. A couple of times, Misa found herself getting distracted and staring at the detective to try to catch any glances he made her way, but Aiber would always snap her attention back to him. If the French man noticed any tension between the two, he made no comment, but he did look between them once or twice.

Wedy finally returned with new boots and some wig clips that she quickly helped Misa with. She also had a duffle bag kept at the door which Misa could only assume was filled with cameras, microphones, and other spyware. After practicing walking up and down the room in the new boots as Wedy instructed, she was ready to start her training to become a stripper.

“We can head to this little place a few blocks down the road. I’ve already checked it out and it’s a ghost zone. Perfect for training an undercover stripper.” Wedy explained as she gathered her things.

“The strip club opens at 6pm, you should head there first to bug the place and then take Misa off to her lesson. You should drop Misa off at the club around 9pm, and check to make sure she enters safely.” L instructed.

Wedy must’ve been picking up on something Misa had been looking for ever since she arrived, because she then said in a teasing tone, “Would you like to come with us and see how the lesson goes?”

“I have work.” L deadpanned. Before Wedy could tease him further, he grabbed some more coffee and sweets and headed off into another room.

Aiber chuckled as he stood as well, “I’ll meet you at the club later then. Try not to look for me, we don’t want them to catch on to the fact that we know each other. Just know I’ll be around looking out for you.”

Misa nodded and waved to the older man before following Wedy out the door. Once they got outside the hotel, Misa found a motorcycle parked in front of them.

“Is that your ride?” Misa asked excitedly.

“Sure is.” Wedy said before handing the younger girl a helmet. Once Misa had her helmet on, she got on the back of the bike and hesitantly grabbed onto Wedy’s waist. “Hold on tight now.” The older woman instructed, and once Misa fixed her grip, they were off.

.

Wedy dropped Misa off at the pole dancing studio before leaving to go bug the strip club. While Misa insisted it would be fine, Wedy told her the whole investigation would be jeopardized if the two were seen together. Misa really wanted to see more of the behind the scenes spy stuff, but she had to agree that it was a much better idea for the American to go alone.

While she waited at the studio, Misa tried practicing some sexy dance moves after putting on a sensual beat. Dancing by herself and staring at herself in the mirror made her feel incredibly awkward, so she tried to think of something to get her in the mood. She closed her eyes and imagined herself dancing in a dark hotel room, one pair of eyes following her every move. She traced her fingers up and down her torso before dropping them to her legs and spreading her thighs. She dropped low and shook her ass, imagining her perfect man biting at his thumb as he watched her.

Suddenly there was a loud wolf whistle. “You’ve got some nice moves.” Wedy called as she entered the building. “Who are ya dancing for?”

“Hehe, no one really. Just practicing.” Misa said nervously as she glanced over at the clock. Somehow without her noticing, an hour had already passed and it was 17:00, which meant they only had four hours for her to learn how to pole dance.

Wedy simply shrugged at her obvious lie and went off into the back to change. When she returned, she was wearing a black crop top and shorts and gestured for Misa to remove her trench coat. “You want a lot of skin to pole contact when it comes to pole dancing.” She explained.

They started out practicing some basic twirls around the pole. Next, Wedy was showing her how to climb the pole and hold on with just her thighs. Misa had some nice thighs, but they weren’t nearly as strong as Wedy’s, and it took her quite a few attempts to get it right. Pole dancing surprising involved a lot of leg, core, and upper body strength. Misa had to stop every thirty minutes for a quick break to catch her breath and hydrate.

After covering the basics, Wedy was teaching her all kinds of crazy moves from the classic Hook and Role to the Hercules. By the end, Misa’s thighs and arms were burning, but she felt much more confident in her skills. Misa quickly learned that Wedy wasn’t one for small talk or backstory, the entire time had been focused on just learning the moves, which while productive, was a bit disappointing for a social butterfly like Misa. Wedy was such a mystery, an insanely hot mystery, and Misa wanted to learn more about her and maybe become her student. Maybe she’d learn how to seduce L from the American woman.

“Alright, it’s almost 9pm, go freshen up real quickly and I’ll drop you off at the Clubhouse.” Wedy called. Misa went off into the restroom and reapplied her deodorant before applying heavy amounts of eye makeup and red lipstick. Next, she fixed up her wig and made sure it was secure on her head and didn’t contain copious amounts of sweat. By the time she was done, Wedy was already in her catsuit at the motorcycle. The ride was just as exhilarating as it was the first time and Misa thought she could get used to this kind of life.

.

Fixing her wig once again after removing her helmet, Misa finally approached the strip club, thinking back to the notes Aiber had given her during their little acting session.

“Don’t ask too many questions. And don’t ask them too soon. Befriend them first, then start the interrogation.” Aiber advised.

“Have you done this sort of thing before?” Misa questioned, genuinely curious of the man’s history.

“Only all the time.” He said with a smile.

Once Misa entered the club, the smell of smoke and alcohol immediately hit her like a train. It wasn’t very pleasant, but she’d have to get used to it if she was going to work here undercover. Misa walked up to the bar and asked very sweetly, “Excuse me, can you point me in direction of whoever owns place?” She sounded very stupid to herself, but she supposed this is what American men would be expecting. 

“Right this way, sweetheart.” The bartender directed her. He led her to a back room where a handsome young man was getting a show from two young women stripping in front of him. “Hey boss, this little thing would like to speak with you.”

The handsome man turned to face Misa and smiled up at her. He waved the two strippers away and motioned for Misa to come forward. “What can I do for ya, doll?”

“I was hoping I could get job.” Misa answered shyly. Playing a role was easy, actually feeling comfortable in this sort of atmosphere was hard, so it was a good thing her character was meant to be naïve and insecure. 

“A job, eh? How old are you, little girl?”

“Oh uh, 18.” She answered with an uneasy smile.

“Hm, do you have any photo ID to prove that?”

“N-no, sir.” She let her eyes drop to the ground.

“This your resume? Let me see it.” Misa handed over the doctored resume. The purpose was to look as fake as possible and give the men the impression that Misa was really a runaway with nowhere to turn to.

“Emily Sato, eh? Why are you looking for a job here and now?”

“My-my dad cut me off last month. I-I have nowhere else to go.” Misa bit her lip and tentatively looked up to meet that man’s eyes. He was smirking down at her, he was totally buying it.

“Alright doll, here’s the deal. I’ll let you strip for me, but anyone comes around and starts asking you questions about your age, you gotta go. Deal?” Misa nodded. “Well, looks like you’ve got a job. You can call me Daddy. Now, how bout you get up there and show me what you got?”

Misa tried not to roll her eyes as she got up to the pole and awaited further instruction. Although Wedy had taught her a good deal, she still needed to be an obvious amateur, but a sexy amateur nonetheless.

“Start dancing for me, doll.” Daddy said as he sat back comfortably in his chair. Misa started doing the same dance routine she had practiced in the studio when she was interrupted. “Get on the pole.”

Misa hesitated for a moment before showing off the basic moves she learned, twirling around and dancing on the pole, trying to think of L and his reaction to her dancing rather than the disgusting man in front of her. When he decided he had finally seen enough, Daddy stood up and clapped. “Perfect. You’re perfect. From now on, your name is Rose. Doc will take you to meet the other girls.”

Daddy left the room and the bartender returned. He handed Misa some water that she threw onto a plant when he wasn’t looking. She then followed after him to a room with multiple makeup and dressing stations, where three other young girls could be found.

“Meet the new girl, Rose.” Doc said while gesturing to Misa. “Now you girls play nice and show our Rose the ropes, okay?”

Misa greeted the other three girls, who all looked to be foreigners as well. One had red hair and called herself Ginger, another had long black hair and called herself Candy, and the last had medium length black hair and called herself Kitty. None of them said their ages, but Misa was certain they couldn’t be any older than 17. While the other girls excitedly showed her the makeup station and their wardrobes, Misa tried to note anything out of the ordinary. While her back was turned to her, Misa observed Candy’s forearms and saw what looked to be track marks. Ginger had them too, and hers were worse, when she took her shoes off Misa even noticed she had some on her feet. Kitty did not have any obvious marks, but Misa could smell the alcohol on her breath and knew the girl had to be buzzed. Misa made a mental note of all of this, but didn’t ask any questions, not yet.

“So, where are you from Rose?” Kitty asked as she applied a new layer of lipstick.

“Japan.” Misa answered automatically.

“Really?” Candy questioned. “Me too. What part?”

“Tokyo.” Misa lied, even though she doubted Candy would be able to figure out who she really was. 

“Oh, were you a rich girl?” Kitty asked, slightly falling over herself as she attempted to get a pair of boots on.

“Yeah, but my daddy cut me off. So now I’m here.”

Ginger placed an empathetic hand on Misa’s shoulder. “Me too. I’m from Ireland and we used to have it all, but I haven’t seen my parents in a long time now.” Ginger looked off distractedly before suddenly adding, “Come here, let me touch up your makeup.”

Ginger added some more foundation and blush to Misa’s face before declaring her ready, and then Kitty took her by the hand and let her out to the main stage. “I know it’s your first night, but they’ll still expect you to dance.” She explained. Misa was exhausted from dancing on poles all day, but this was what she signed up for.

As Misa followed the other girls out, her eyes searched the room until they finally found Aiber standing at the bar. Some tension eased from her shoulders and she averted her eyes before she found herself staring for too long, remembering what the man had told her before.

She got into place next to Candy and the other girl winked at her. “Showtime.” She said. The lights were dim, the place still stank, and ugly men were leering at them, but Misa just needed to get through these next few hours and then report back to L. She could do that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all like the first part of the Clubhouse arc! The next part we'll learn more about the club, the girls there, and hopefully some more about Aiber and Wedy too! I won't let this story get too dark, but I will put a trigger warning up just in case. 
> 
> It might be awhile before I update this story again because I'm going out of town next weekend, so I decided to go ahead and post two chapter back to back. I'll be back in two weeks! I'll try to post my oneshot next week to make up for it! 
> 
> Thanks for reading as always!


	8. Kiss Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: human trafficking, sexual harassment

Chapter 8

July 11, 2003

After hours of dancing on the pole and what must have been the equivalent of thousands of yen in tips, Misa found herself back in the dressing room with the other girls. There were a few others there now as well, some in awful states like Ginger, and some just as bubbly as Kitty. These girls came from what was called the “Upper House,” and they had received much more in tips than Misa had. Misa could only assume what was going on up there, but she had to be careful about what types of questions she asked.

“Shift change soon. Take your breaks now, girls.” Doc had called into the room. “Except you new girl, you’re done for the night. The boss would like to see you up front when you’re finished in here.”

Misa nodded before turning to Ginger. The girl looked absolutely exhausted, like she was going to fall apart at any minute and was having trouble getting out of her boots.

“Let me.” Misa offered as she kneeled down to undo the laces. It was already 3:00 and Misa had been here for six hours, but it seemed like the other girls had been here all day. In fact, it seemed like they never left this place at all. In between the dance sessions, Misa had gotten to know a little bit about the girls. Kitty and Candy had been visiting America from China and Japan respectively, but had decided to stay after meeting Daddy. They told Misa they made quite a bit of money here and saw no reason to return to their old lives. Ginger on the other hand had ran away from home and had no where else to go after being cut off by her parents. She seemed to miss them a lot, but she wasn’t comfortable talking about them. For her part, Misa fed them all a story that she had run away from home too after being cut off, just like she practiced with Aiber. The girls all bought it and Ginger in particular seemed to gravitate towards her more, wanting to bond over the shared trauma.

From what she gathered, these girls had been manipulated into staying by Daddy, possibly seeing him as a boyfriend or father figure, but that was just a guess. The Upper House had to be where the trafficking was occurring because only regular pole dancing and lap dances were performed on the main floor. As Misa was the new girl, she wasn’t going to be brought to the Upper House, at least not yet. That meant that they were slowly luring these girls into this kind of work. It had to be because of the money and the fact that the girls had nowhere else to go, but they made so much money from stripping, Misa didn’t understand what would make them agree to sex work. It had to be drugs. She’d seen enough track marks on the girls and saw how many of them drank throughout the night. The drugs were making the girls more compliant.

As Misa finished taking off Ginger’s boots, she looked up to see the girl slightly dozing off. The poor thing, she must be truly exhausted.

“We’re gonna take our breaks now. It was so nice meeting you Rose!” Kitty called, suddenly giving Misa a quick hug.

“It was nice meeting you too, Kitty!” Misa hugged her back and tried to match the girl’s enthusiasm. Kitty was way more buzzed than she had been earlier.

“I hope you’ll come back tomorrow. It already feels like you’re a part of the family.” Candy added in.

“Of course!” Misa said cheerfully. She waved at them as the girls collected their things and left the room.

“I guess Ginger is using her break to sleep again, I’m using mine for food.” She heard Kitty say to Candy before they left. So the girls had to choose between sleep and food on their breaks? They were being worked to death.

As Misa put her trench coat back on, she decided to take a chance and ask Ginger a few questions before leaving. The girls were alone now and Misa could probably justify taking a few more minutes to get to know her coworkers before facing Daddy again. As gently as she could, Misa lightly shook Ginger awake. “Hey Ginger, are you okay?”

“Rose? Oh… I-uh, I’m alright.” The redhead stated as she slowly sat back up. “Did the others leave for break already? I guess I should get something to eat too.”

“You look awfully tired Ginger, are you sure you’re okay?” Misa held the younger girl’s hand and looked her in the eyes before giving a small squeeze. “You can trust me, you know. You can tell me anything.”

Ginger looked away for a moment before looking back and Misa noticed the tears pooling in the girl’s eyes. “I’m just… I’m just so tired. I’m so tired all the time. I want it to stop, but I can’t. I just want to sleep. That’s all I want.” The redhead began to quietly sob and Misa wrapped her arms around her, rubbing small circles on her back.

“Oh honey, you should get some rest. Surely there’s a place for you to sleep?”

“N-no, n-not here. All w-we do here is w-work.” Ginger cried.

“Why don’t you come with me then?” Misa wasn’t even sure if it was okay for her to ask this, but she wanted to get Ginger out of this situation. The longer she stayed the more clear it became that L’s suspicions about this place being the center of a human trafficking circle were true. The girls must be disappearing because they were dying from being worked to the bone.

“I c-can’t. I w-want to. B-but they’ll find out. Th-they’ll hurt m-me.” Ginger whispered.

Misa was now fully deviating from the plan, but she couldn’t watch this poor girl struggle any longer. She leaned in close and whispered in her ear, “Meet me around back in a few minutes. Make sure no one follows you. I’ll give you a sign.” She then got to her feet and collected her purse.

“It was so nice meeting you Ginger, I hope I see you again soon!” Misa called loudly as she left the room, not daring to look back. She could only hope that Ginger would listen to her and that she’d be able to get the redhead out of this mess.

As Misa entered the main room, she was stopped by Daddy.

“You did well for you first night, doll. But unfortunately, we’re gonna need to take a portion of that. Think of it as liability insurance.” Daddy explained as he took Misa’s purse from her. He left her only a few bills and then placed his hand on top of her head to stroke her hair. “You’re a good girl, aren’t ya? But maybe you need a little protection? We can protect you. Come back tomorrow night.”

Misa did her best to give the man a genuine smile, “I like that very much. I be back tomorrow night.” He continued to stroke her hair for a few more moments. His hand trailed down to her back next and then he held her around the waist. Everything in Misa was screaming for her to bolt, but she was afraid of blowing her cover.

Right as he was leaning in, his cellphone suddenly started to buzz. “Sorry doll, I’ve gotta take this. I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?”

“Of course!” Misa tried to smile as genuinely as possible and not turn around to leave too fast. She kept up a normal pace as she left the club, and as soon as she was outside, she let out a deep breath. Her whole body was still shivering, thinking of what he might have done if not for the distraction.

Misa walked down a few blocks before she spotted Wedy’s bike. She sped up just a little bit and finally let the tension fall from her shoulders once she was with the older woman again.

“How’d it go?”

“I’m not eager to go back, but I certainly learned a lot.” Misa said. “But uh, I may have deviated from the plan a bit.”

Wedy raised an eyebrow at this. “In what way?”

“I told one of the girls to meet me out back and make sure no one follows her. She’s so tired and she really needs to sleep. I was thinking-”

“You want to rescue her.” Wedy stated bluntly. Misa nodded with a small smile. “Fine. Get on the bike and let’s be quick about this. Put on your helmet.”

Wedy drove slowly back over to the Clubhouse, taking an indirect route that kept them hidden in the shadows. As they hid in a nearby alley, Misa saw Ginger waiting out back with a coat on, looking around nervously. Misa tapped Wedy on the shoulder and pointed to the girl, which the older woman flashed her lights at to signal to come over. Ginger walked at a fast pace and made it over to the bike, but just as she arrived, Doc busted through the exit.

“Gingy, baby, where ya going?” He called as he looked around. Once he spotted them, he took out a gun.

“Get on! Quick!” Wedy shouted. Ginger hopped on the back, holding onto Misa tightly, as Wedy revved the engine and quickly reversed down the alley. The three women on the bike was a tight fit, even with how small they were, and Misa held tightly onto both women, hoping no one would fall off. She heard a few gunshots and a car engine turning on before Wedy spun the bike around and they were racing down the streets.

Even as they entered the main road, Misa still heard gunshots and ducked her head. Wedy began to weave the bike between cars, suddenly entering the left side of the road, dodging cars driving right at them. Misa tried not to scream, but Ginger wasn’t able to hold her fear back.

“We gotta lose them!” Wedy yelled. Misa turned around to see a car behind them disobeying traffic laws just like them. The car was a red mustang and it was slowly catching up. Wedy suddenly made a left turn, but the car followed. Suddenly there were more gunshots and Ginger was screaming once again as all the women ducked and Wedy continued to weave the bike through traffic, narrowly avoiding being hit.

Misa felt a buzzing on Wedy’s waist and grabbed the woman’s phone, answering it for her so she could stay focused on not letting them be hit by a car.

“Misa, tell Wedy to take the next right. Penber and Misora are waiting on the next street with a blockade.” Oh god, it was L. Misa didn’t have time to worry about what he was thinking though.

“Take the next right!” She screamed at Wedy, and as the woman did so, Misa felt something graze her right arm.

Sure enough, at the end of the road Raye and Naomi were waiting with a blockade of police cars and behind Wedy more cops entered to throw out a chain to pop tires. The red mustang followed right behind them and went over the chain, popping the tires and spinning out. Wedy quickly spun off to the left to avoid being hit while police chased after the spinning car.

Finally, the women came to a stop and Wedy turned off the bike. Able to catch her breath again and no longer running on adrenaline, Misa felt a sharp pain in her arm.

“Rose! You’ve been shot!” Ginger shouted. Misa looked down at her arm to see blood and quickly used her other hand to cover the wound, but pain shot through her system and she cried out.

“Misa! Let me help you!” Naomi called as she sprinted over. She helped Misa down from the bike and brought her over to a nearby car to sit down. In her periphery, Misa noticed Wedy leading Ginger over to Raye.

“This is gonna hurt, I’m sorry, but we can’t risk infection.” Naomi warned as she began cleaning the wound with alcohol, Misa cried out and tried to muffle her sounds with her hand. Naomi then placed a sterile dressing on the wound and wrapped a tourniquet around her arm to stop the bleeding. She kept Misa’s arm elevated and told her to breathe. “The good news is you were only grazed by the bullet; it didn’t fully enter the body. We’ll get an ambulance over here shortly.”

Misa tried to breathe through the pain and focus on something else. As she looked around, it looked like Raye was taking a statement from Ginger and that Doc was being arrested in the distance. Wedy was taking a smoke break over by her bike. L was nowhere to be seen.

“Where is _he_?” Misa questioned, knowing Naomi would be able to tell who she was referring to.

“He’s sending a swat team to the Clubhouse to grab the boss before he flees and to get the girls out of there.” Naomi answered.

“Did I mess up?” Misa asked quietly. She knew that this was supposed to be a stealth mission.

“No, you just sped up the process. Honestly, with you befriending Ginger and leading to Doc’s arrest, we should have enough evidence alongside the tapes to bring the trafficking circle down. This will make it easier to find the other girls who disappeared too.” Naomi replied. She was being sincere, Misa could tell by her voice. Misa only hoped that L felt the same way.

.

A couple of hours later, and Misa was back at the hotel. The EMTs had cleaned out the wound, placed some antibiotic ointment over it, and patched her up. Afterwards, she had gone with Wedy to drop Ginger off at a treatment facility to treat her for her withdrawal. Daddy and Doc had gotten her addicted to heroine over her time spent with them and it would be a long time until she recovered, but the people at the treatment facility were sympathetic to her situation. She had hugged Misa goodbye, begging her to stay in touch.

During the ride back, Wedy revealed to her that she had almost ended up like those girls at one point in her life. She had been 16 and homeless; she had no money, no place to go, and no one to count on. An older man had offered her a place to stay if she did a few favors for him. She had ended up robbing the man instead, the first person she ever robbed, and moved on to a life of crime after that.

“I robbed people for years before moving on to bigger things. Jewelry stores, banks, museums, you name it. For 9 years, I was nothing but a criminal.”

“What changed?”

“I met L, and well, your mother.” Wedy said simply. They got off the bike and walked back towards the hotel.

“Really, you knew my mom?” Misa asked excitedly.

“Yeah, she was a pretty fiery woman. You seem a lot like her.” Wedy gave Misa a soft smile, which Misa matched.

“I wish I could have asked her about all her adventures, I never got the chance. I’m sure she really liked you though.” Misa said as she thought about her mom. _Okasan always did enjoy meeting strong women. She would have loved Naomi too._

“Oh, I don’t know that she enjoyed working with criminals as much as L does, but she did show me there was more to life.” As they finally entered the hotel room, Wedy ended the conversation. “Maybe I’ll tell you about it another time.”

Once she entered the room, Misa immediately became nervous and looked down at her feet. She wondered if the others would be angry at her for her impulsive decision. Now that she was away from the drama, she realized she had put herself and other in danger on a whim.

Suddenly, she heard footsteps walking towards her and looked up to see L coming right at her. The look in his eyes was more intense than she had ever seen them before, and she nervously took a step back. Once he reached her, his hands brushed her hair out of her face, her wig having been removed sometime after the chaos, and he looked her in the eyes. “Are you okay?”

“O-oh, yes. I’m fine.” Misa squeaked out as she blushed. His hands caressed her face for another moment before he seemed to realize they weren’t alone, and he took a step back and cleared his throat.

“The owners of the Clubhouse have been arrested and will be questioned later today. Seeing as it’s 5am, I’d advise you all to get some rest before we meet back up in the afternoon to go over evidence and next steps.” L stated.

“Thanks L.” Wedy yawned. She placed a hand on Misa’s shoulder and gave a small squeeze before retiring to her room.

Naomi and Raye bid everyone goodnight as well, Naomi giving Misa a small wink, before leaving to get some rest as well. Aiber had been the last to return to the room, seemingly just getting off a phone call, and he waved goodnight before quickly heading to his room last, leaving Misa and L alone in the main room together.

“Shouldn’t you be getting some rest?” L asked as he went into the kitchen to make himself some coffee.

Misa followed after him, hoping he wouldn’t mind the company. “I can’t sleep. I can never sleep in new places. It took me a week to be able to sleep in Mako’s house.”

“You should at least lay down. You have a wound to heal.” L pointed out softly.

“I don’t really like being by myself. Would you come with me?” She looked up at him with a shy look on her face. He hesitated to answer, so she added in, “Please? You can just sit in a chair nearby. Having someone to talk to would be nice.”

He sighed heavily before slowly nodding his head. “Okay, Misa. I’ll meet you in there in a few minutes.”

Misa headed back to her room, where her suitcase was already waiting, and changed into a big t-shirt to sleep in. She removed her lacy panties for a more comfortable pair and then took out her contacts. After brushing her teeth and then her hair with her left hand, Misa posed in the mirror trying to look cute and innocent, being mindful of the wound on her right arm. It wasn’t like she was trying to make anything happen, she just wanted to spend more time with him. She felt comfortable around L, and she had had a very long day. Besides, Naomi was with Raye, so really he was her only option, she tried to rationalize.

She climbed under the covers and waited with her bedside lamp on. She didn’t have to wait long as there was a small knock at her door. “C-come in.” She said nervously.

L walked in with his normal hunch and a cup of coffee. He grabbed the chair in her room and turned it towards her, but kept plenty of space between the chair and the bed. He sat in his weird way and took a few gulps of coffee before he addressed her. “Are you sure you’re doing okay?”

“Yeah, it doesn’t hurt too bad. They gave me some pain meds. It hurt like hell at first, but it’s much better now.” She said, looking down at her wound. Honestly, she thought it was pretty cool that she would have this scar from being shot at. It made her feel like a badass.

“I didn’t mean, well that too, but I mostly meant with everything else that happened today.” He clarified.

Misa took a moment to get her thoughts together before she answered him. “Well, it was hard to see those girls like that. They all looked so lost, and so tired. I was really sad to see them like that, but I’m glad now because we got them out of that creepy place.”

“I’m sorry I sent you there. Men can be such vile creatures.” L said as he looked away from her.

“Oh, no, I was happy to help! I mean, I didn’t like the men there, but it wasn’t so bad!” Misa quickly rectified. 

“What about when that man pet your hair?”

Oh yeah, L had been watching through the cameras. Oh… that meant he saw her dance. Misa reddened, unable to speak for a moment as the realization hit her. _He saw me pole dancing in my sexy outfit… What did he think of it?_

“I’m sorry if that question made you uncomfortable.” L said, drinking his coffee again.

“N-no, it’s okay. I mean, it wasn’t okay when he touched me, but once it was over, I was so relieved- Wait, were you the one who called his phone?”

L choked a bit on his coffee, coughing quite a bit and holding his drink off to the side so it didn’t spill on him. Misa smiled and tried not to laugh at him. “Thank you, L. I’m glad you were looking out for me.”

“All men are vile creatures, Misa.” He told her after he collected himself.

“You’re not vile, L. You’re a good man.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do.” She insisted. “You were good enough for my mother to leave the world in your hands. You were good enough to solve my mother’s case. You were good enough to not treat me like I was weak and fragile. You were good enough to save me from what could have been a really bad situation. I know you’re a good man.”

“You wouldn’t think so if you knew all the things I had done, all the things I was willing to do to solve a case.” There was an intensity in L’s eyes again, like he was trying to warn her away from something, but she wasn’t buying it.

“L, I almost killed the man who murdered my parents. I won’t judge you for the things you’ve had to do. I can handle it.” At some point, Misa had moved out from under the covers and sat on the edge of her bed, much closer to L than she had been.

L sighed heavily and placed his mug on the ground. “Misa, I put you in danger today. I shouldn’t have asked you to come on this case.”

“Did I die? Or did I help you solve the case faster?” She challenged.

“You are too young, there’s so much you don’t know. You’re only attached to me because you hero-worship me after I helped take down the man who murdered your parents.”

“You can teach me. And before you said that I was a huge part in taking him down and that I saved myself.” She inched just a little bit closer to him.

“I am a detective, the world’s greatest. Any sort of relationship with me would put you in danger. Besides, all my time is devoted to cases.”

“We made a really great team before. I can continue to help you in the future. I won’t break so easily.” Just a bit closer.

“I can’t take you on every case. Most of the time we won’t even be in the same country.”

“I have that phone.” She smiled at him, he was running out of arguments.

He looked like he was just about to say something else, but then he stopped himself and got out of the chair. For a second, Misa was afraid she pushed too far and that he was going to leave, but then he was leaning down and capturing her lips in a soft kiss.

It took her a moment to react, but then she was carefully wrapping her arms around his neck and bringing him down to her. He was sucking on her bottom lip as she licked his upper lip and then opened her mouth to him. She felt his tongue enter her mouth and the two slowly licked at each other before going back to sucking harshly at each other’s lips. She laid back down on the bed and he hovered over her, their lips still attached, but she leaned down incorrectly on her right arm, causing her to flinch. L immediately jumped off of her, panting slightly.

As the older man tried to recollect himself, Misa cursed her arm for ruining the moment. “I’m sorry Misa, I got carried away. You should rest.” He said, not meeting her eye, before he left the room.

Misa huffed as she got back under the sheets. She could only hope he wouldn’t avoid her again, but she had a good feeling that things weren’t going to go her way.

.

L tapped away at his laptop, pulling all the evidence together and going over everything that needed to be done tomorrow. He’d have to send the team back to the Clubhouse to look for any evidence of the girls who disappeared and try to collect statements from the owners to determine the locations of the bodies. The American criminal justice system was rather flawed, and there was a good chance the girls could be arrested for prostitution if they weren’t able to prove it was human trafficking. He was glad to have the owners in custody so soon, but it wasn’t without its downsides.

As L tapped away, he heard a pair of footsteps enter the room.

“Hello Aiber, up so early? Don’t you need your beauty sleep?” He asked in his regular monotone.

“I couldn’t sleep, Nadine called me and told me Rico has pneumonia. I’m sure he’ll be fine, but ya know, a dad’s got to worry.” Aiber said casually as he sat across from L.

L nodded, recalling that those were the names of Aiber’s wife and son. He’s not sure when Aiber became so comfortable telling him the details of his life, but they had known each other for quite some time, and Aiber had been grateful to him for getting him out of a sticky situation where had L not intervened, he would have been killed by the mafia.

“Does that mean you’re done with this case?” L asked.

Aiber chuckled and shook his head. “Man, are you telling me to go take care of my family? That girl’s made you soft.”

L paused for a moment wondering if his infatuation for Misa had been that obvious to the others. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

“Bullshit. I’ve known you seven years and in all my time working with you, you’ve never asked a single person if they were okay on a case.” Aiber laughed a bit again. “Come on, you can’t tell me you haven’t noticed yourself.”

“I’ve gone soft?” L repeated, thumb at his lip as he thought about it. Had Misa really made such a dramatic impact on him?

“Honestly, it makes sense. She’s the yin to your yang. You two fit together.” Aiber mused.

“What do you think Deneuve would say?” L wondered aloud.

“Ha, she’d probably give you hell. Tell you to be good to her girl and all that. But I think she would have come around to it, she seemed to respect you. Enough to give her alias up to you, at least.” Aiber answered honestly.

L remembered when Deneuve decided to give her name up to him. She told him it was for the best that she retire and spend more time with her family after he beat her fair and square. He remembered her mentioning a very cute daughter who had a habit of getting into trouble. He never thought he’d meet her himself one day and that she’d become a helpful ally and yet also the biggest distraction to his work. Watching her dance the other day had been… No, those thoughts aren’t productive. Forget it.

“You already debriefed me yesterday on the VIP status and now that the owners are in custody and we have a warrant to search the place, we can figure out who was on that list and what services they received. You’re free to leave if you wish.” L went back to tapping away at his laptop, ignoring the smirk Aiber gave him.

“If you say so.” Aiber stood up and paused for a moment. “She’s passionate just like her mother. Far more impulsive, but so far that’s been a good thing. And you seem more human around her. I think it would be a good thing for you.” After giving his unsolicited advice, the con-man left to grab his bags and headed home.

L tried very hard to focus just on work. He really tried, but he was already a goner.

.

Later that afternoon, after everyone was well rested, part of the team left to question those who were on the VIP list while the other part of the team went to investigate the Clubhouse for any signs of the missing girls.

Misa, however, was forced to stay in the hotel as L worked on his laptop in the main room. He told her that her part of the case was done now, and they’d simply arrange for a quick photoshoot with some American magazine and ship her off back home. Misa was told her only job was to rest now, which of course she wasn’t able to do. She wanted to know what was going on. Were the other girls okay? Did they find the bodies of the missing girls? She couldn’t just lay in bed not knowing.

Not able to take it anymore, Misa walked back into the main room to question L on what was happening.

“The other girls have all been taken to treatment facilities. Some of them have been placed in foster care. We’re still looking for the missing girls, and some of the girls have reported seeing the one known as Doc drag bags out to the dumpster. If that’s true, we’ll have to track and investigate the landfills nearby, which won’t be easy to do, but it’ll only be a matter of time before we find them. Anything else you wish to know?” L said robotically as he continued to focus on his laptop and not her.

“Yes. Are you mad at me? About last night?”

“No.”

“Are you going to stop talking to me again when I go home?”

“Maybe.”

“Why?” Misa groaned. This man could be so infuriating sometimes.

“I don’t think it’s in your best interest to be involved with me.”

“But do you like me?” Misa asked. He had kissed her last night, surely he was at least attracted to her. They could build something from that, couldn’t they?

“Whether or not I like you isn’t important. What’s important is keeping you safe.” He deflected.

“It’s important to me! Am I not pretty enough?”

L sighed, “You know you’re beautiful. You’re also only 18.”

“Well how old are you?”

“That’s a secret.” L said with a smirk.

“You’re attracted to me.” Misa accused, finding a new direction for her argument.

“That doesn’t mean anything.”

“It means plenty. Kiss me.” She joined him where he was sitting, leaning over the chair and playfully batting her eyelashes at him.

“No.”

“Kiss me.”

“Misa.”

“Please?”

She was leaning over him, just about to ask him to kiss her again, when he reached up and placed his hand on the back of her head to bring her down to him and softly capture her lips once again. It didn’t last long though and he quickly pulled away. “Please go rest now.” He said softly.

“Promise you won’t disappear on me again?”

“I can’t make that promise.”

She grumbled as she pulled away to leave the room, but just before she was completely out of earshot, she heard him say, “I do like you, Misa.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was supposed to be studying for my midterm, but instead I finished writing this chapter, LOL WHOOPS. 
> 
> This completes this short little arc. I hope you enjoyed this story and I hope I did a good job of adding some more depth to Aiber and Wedy. The next chapter will be another transition, it'll be pretty long too because I'm covering from the end of this chapter to November, so it might take me awhile to write. Or maybe I'll write it really quickly instead of getting studying done again. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ 
> 
> Light will finally make an appearance either at the end of the next chapter or at the beginning of chapter 10! We're in it now folks! I honestly didn't think the opening of this story would take me so long, but here we are. I'm thinking this story is going to end up being at least 30 chapters, maybe more. I keep on adding new things, so we'll see how it goes. 
> 
> If I wrote a fanfic after this one where Misa's parents were actually killed by Kira instead of robbers and she wanted her revenge against him, would y'all read it? Let me know.


	9. Soon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: mentions of human trafficking, murder 
> 
> Here it is! The smut has finally begun!

Chapter 9

October 31, 2003

The last three and a half months had been a whirlwind for Misa. After her photoshoot in America with the fashion magazine Watari had set up, she was invited to do a couple more and a commercial, leading to her career practically taking off overnight when she finally returned to Japan. She was excited for all the activity, it kept her going, but she couldn’t help but miss her friends and a special someone since she’d last seen them in July.

The work had kept her in America for another two weeks and seeing as they were the ones who brought her there, she stayed with L and Watari the whole time. The others stayed to fill their respective roles on the case but left before Misa returned home.

Wedy had stayed two days to help bug the members of the VIP list, which had led to the discovery of two of the missing girls from the Clubhouse. Luckily, they were both alive, but in poor health and had to be rushed to the hospital. After that, Wedy had taken her paycheck from L and was on her way. Misa was able to catch her just before she left to give the former cat burglar her email address just in case she wanted to stay in touch.

Over the course of the past three months, Misa had received one mysterious email that just contained a bunch of photos of nice views from around the world. The email didn’t have any written message in it and was just signed with a lower case ‘w.’ If it were anyone else, Misa would have been jealous and annoyed by the person showing off, but with it being Wedy, she couldn’t help but just be impressed. And also wonder if Wedy had broken into any of the places she visited.

Naomi and Raye had stayed for another week arresting members of the VIP list for their participation in the human trafficking circle and searching for clues for the other four missing girls. As it would turn out, Doc did in fact take the girls who had been worked to death into the basement of the Clubhouse to chop up their bodies and place them in large trash bags. L was able to determine which landfill the bags would have most likely gone to and the whole community got involved in searching for the missing girls. By the end of the week, the girls had been found and their families informed of what happened to them. With the case closed, Naomi and Raye returned to their home in LA, but continued to work with the caseworker for the girls who had survived.

There were eight girls total who had survived their time at the Clubhouse; Ginger, Candy, Kitty, the three other girls Misa had seen coming from the Upper House the night she worked undercover, and the two girls that had been found in a VIP member’s home. The majority of the girls were placed into treatment facilities to deal with the addiction problems Daddy and Doc had caused, whereas the younger ones like Kitty were placed in therapeutic foster homes. A caseworker was assigned to try to help the girls reach back out to their families, and the work took some time as most of them had been foreigners.

Naomi kept Misa up to date on the girls, and by the end of September, seven of the eight had been reunited with their families. The only one who wasn’t was Ginger, who’s parents seemed to want nothing to do with her. Ginger had done well in her treatment facility, but the lack of concern from her parents about what had happened to her had caused her to relapse. She fell back into drug use and was arrested. Naomi tried to have the charges dropped, but the courts wouldn’t budge, and Ginger ended up being deported from the country. Ginger lost her phone at some point during the chaos as well and Misa wasn’t able to reach back out to her again.

To make matters worse, a few members of the VIP list had been rich enough to bail themselves out as their trials awaited. From what Misa heard, it sounded like two of the men were likely to be put under house arrest and forced to do community service instead of any jail time. The miscarriage of justice had been too much for Naomi to take, and with no power to change the system, she had quit the force.

“It’s all a bunch of bullshit!” Naomi had cried. Misa had never heard the normally calm woman sound so angry and defeated.

“You’re right, Naomi, but are you sure you want to quit? Don’t you want to change things?”

“I can’t change the system from the inside, the only way is to work outside of it.” Though Naomi had been so angry, Misa could tell this wasn’t a decision made in the heat of the moment, it was the real deal.

Naomi called Misa at least once a week, and the last time they spoke Naomi had said something about possibly going back to school and becoming a social worker. When she spoke to Raye, which was much less frequent, he seemed supportive of Naomi’s plans, but also thought she’d miss working on cases with the team.

Misa often wondered if she herself would ever be a part of the team again. L had seemed to feel a great deal of regret bringing her on the case in Las Vegas and blamed himself for her bullet wound, which had healed into a nice scar by now that she found pretty sexy, though she was sure L could only see his mistakes looking at it. Their relationship had gone through its own rollercoaster these past few months.

In the two weeks that she stayed with them, L had managed to ignore her at every turn and avoid a single moment alone together by fleeing the room with excuses. He had to talk to someone on the phone or he had to suddenly leave the building or he had to go find so-and-so to help him finish up a report. She had been beginning to think he wouldn’t even say goodbye to her at the airport until Watari intervened.

Honestly, she hadn’t expected the old man to be such a good wingman. When she awoke the morning of her flight teary eyed and whining about how L hated her now for being pushy, Watari had simply given her a warm smile with a twinkle in his eye and told her not to worry. Once she had her bags packed and waiting outside the hotel, she was surprised to see L sitting in the back of the car, who seemed equally surprised to see her. Apparently, the old man had lied to him about when her flight was, and he had thought she already left. Instead, they had flights going to different countries at the same time, so it only made sense for them to all ride to the airport together.

While Watari excused himself to check-in everyone’s bags, L and Misa waited in the car as they would simply be driving around to the back of the airport to get on their flights instead of going through security. L had been completely trapped and Misa had never been more grateful for Watari and his masterful tactics.

“So, you weren’t even going to say goodbye to me?” She had asked.

“We’ve been over this already,” he sighed, “A relationship with me would only endanger you.”

“Well then what if we just stayed friends? Can’t you at least be a small part of my life?” She suggested.

“I don’t do friends.” He deadpanned.

She had snorted at that. “What? Aiber and Wedy aren’t your friends? Naomi and Raye?”

“They are my employees. Not friends.”

“Okay, well… but they’re still people you interact with. You don’t care about endangering them?”

“They know the risks of the job.”

“Well I know the risks of the job too now!”

“This isn’t your line of work. And you’re too young.”

“Well when did you start as a detective?”

“Not important.”

Ugh, the man was infuriating. She had to find a new direction. “Fine, fine. Well then, what about Watari? What is he to you? You don’t care about endangering him?”

“That is…” He rubbed his thumb along his lip. “That is a special case.”

“Well then I can be another ‘special case.’ Besides, how can you endanger me if we’re gonna be in different countries? All I’m asking is that you call me every now and then. Or are you saying you’re that easy to track down and someone will be able to figure out our connection?” She could taste victory. Almost there.

He had paused at that. She must have made a really good argument. He turned to look her in the eye. “Just… call you?”

“Yes! It doesn’t even have to be that often, I just want to be able to hear from you!”

“Very well, we can be friends. Just friends.”

“Yay!” Misa cheered. She went to give him a kiss on the cheek, but stopped herself. She needed to make sure she didn’t cross any boundaries. “Can I give you a friendly kiss on the cheek?”

He had sighed, but nodded. She quickly leaned in to give him a quick smooch on his left cheek, but then changed her mind and decided one just wasn’t enough, and began peppering kisses along his cheek while giggling as she heard him groan.

“Misa-” But as he turned to address her, she accidentally got him full on the lips. For a second, they both paused and said nothing. Surprisingly, it was L who broke the silence. “Maybe we should… Perhaps it would be rational to share a goodbye kiss to alleviate these feelings.”

“You mean we kiss so we stop thinking about it?”

“Yes.”

“Oh.” Misa tried not to look so eager about it and let him take the lead. She closed her eyes and waited as L grabbed both sides of her face and gently brought her lips to his. The kiss was soft and sweet at first, but then he began to run his tongue along her bottom lip, and she opened her mouth to him. He only meant to tease her with his tongue though and went back to sucking on her bottom lip, a bit harsher this time. She responded by biting his lip and drawing a groan from him.

As they started sucking at each other’s lips with more passion and running their tongues along each other’s lips, Misa felt L get out of his crouched position and pull her towards him more. She was no longer leaning over him, but instead surrounded by his warmth, and she wrapped her hands around his neck to reach up and tug at his hair. When he groaned again, she sucked his tongue into her mouth and bit down on it. He responded by tilting her head up more and pressing his lips even firmer against hers and taking over the kiss with his tongue.

Misa could feel arousal coursing through her and when she felt one of L’s arms lower to grope her breast, she welcomed the new sensation. As he massaged her breast with one hand, he placed the other on the back of her neck to control the kiss more effectively. She could feel herself getting lightheaded, but she didn’t care. What good was breathing anyway?

Suddenly, L jumped from her, hitting his head on the top of the car and falling to the floor of it. Just as she was about to ask him what was wrong, Watari opened the door to get into the driver’s seat. As he turned around to tell them it was time to be off, he took in the scene behind him and thought better of it, facing forward once again and putting the car into drive.

“Do you, uh… do you want to get up from the floor of the car?” Misa asked.

“No, this is fine.” L said.

As they drove in awkward silence, Misa fixed up her hair and makeup, glancing at L every now and then, who had placed an arm over his face. She had never seen him embarrassed before and she couldn’t help but smile at how adorable it was.

When Watari stopped in front of her plane, he got out to open the door for her. She sat there a moment longer to smile down at L, who was still laying on the floor of the car. “Goodbye, L. You’ll call me, won’t you?”

“Yes, Misa, I’ll call you. Goodbye.” He had moved his arm just a bit so she could see his eyes as he said this, and she reached down to briefly squeeze his hand before Watari helped her out of the car. She gave the older man a big hug and then boarded her flight.

In the time that passed, L actually did keep his word. Once a week, usually late into the early hours of the morning, he would give her a call. He would never talk about himself or what he was up to during these calls, but he would sit and listen as she talked about her life. Every now and then he’d make a noise to confirm he was listening or make a small, dry comment on what she said. Sometimes he even asked her questions about her stories so she would elaborate.

In the beginning, they mostly talked about her modeling career. She had been officially signed to an agency and they decided she should start dressing in gothic Lolita, something that was becoming increasingly popular in Japan. She would ask L what he thought about her new photoshoots as she figured out that he actually kept up with her work. He would always say they looked nice with no further elaboration, but it was enough to make Misa happy.

As Misa’s popularity increased from her time abroad, she was given the opportunity for more photoshoots with more magazines and a few commercials for varying makeup brands. She started befriending some of the photographers she regularly worked with and her fellow models as well. While she always wanted to be a model, before she hadn’t had much confidence on whether or not her career would take off, but now with her star power rising she felt like she could accomplish anything she wanted to.

Once September hit, she expanded to talking to him about Mako, Raye, Naomi, and her new friends and what they were going through. He always seemed happy to know that Mako was doing well, but he never asked any questions about her or the others. L had been surprised to hear Naomi quit the force, but when Misa asked him how he felt about it, he made no comment. She also talked about the girls from the old case and quickly learned that L never followed up on old cases. Well, except for hers.

By October she had grown more confident with this friendship, and decided she’d like to tease him every now and then.

“Wanna know what I’m wearing right now? All I’m wearing is a big t-shirt and long striped socks.” She giggled.

“Misa, I don’t understand why you need to describe your state of dress to me.” He groaned.

“Do you like me more with my hair in pigtails or when it’s down?” She ignored him.

“I like both.” He stated simply after a pause. She blushed at that, storing it away in her brain as another indicator that he really liked her.

“Wanna know what I’m thinking about? I’m thinking about what we would do if we weren’t just talking on the phone. If you were right here beside me.”

“Misa…”

“What? AS FRIENDS of course! Hehe, what were you thinking, L?” She heard him sigh heavily on the other end.

“You should go to bed.”

“I’m in bed already.” She said playfully.

“Sleep.”

“Okay, fine. Goodnight L!”

“Goodnight Misa.”

Even though she enjoyed teasing him, what she said was true. She’d often stay up late, her sleep schedule completely ruined by his call schedule, thinking about what they would do if they saw each other again. She’d think about what happened in the car and what could have happened if they hadn’t been interrupted.

She had several fantasies about him and his long fingers. And that tongue. She would often find herself reaching into her drawer for her vibrator as she thought about these fantasies until she’d eventually reach her climax and finally be able to sleep. Misa didn’t have much experience when it came to sex, the most she had ever done was make out with her boyfriends and let L feel her up a bit in the car, but she knew she wanted more. She believed this to be the kind of thing you did with the person you loved and could only imagine herself doing it with L, but she wasn’t sure she’d ever see him again, and if she did, she wasn’t sure he’d allow their relationship to progress any further.

Sometimes she felt weird about the fact that she was so into a guy that she knew so little about, but she was certain by this point she knew him better than others, except for Watari. During those two weeks he had been ignoring her, she had taken every opportunity to observe him and try to learn more about him. She learned that he truly didn’t eat anything besides sweets, and that he seemed disgusted by all other types of food. He usually didn’t sleep for days, but when he did sleep it was for eighteen hours at a time, and sometimes he could be found sleeping with his eyes open. He always wore the same outfit every day, but it was because he had multiple copies of it, not that he wasn’t changing every day. And often, when he was alone, he would pace around the room as he was deep in thought. She could hear him pacing from her room well into the early hours of the morning. She also learned that he could tie a cherry stem with his tongue.

She was pretty ridiculous, fantasizing about a guy who told her outright they could never have a relationship. By this point, even Mako had caught on and was convinced that she had a secret boyfriend and kept asking her to spill the details.

“Who is he? Is he from your modeling agency? Is he an actor? Is he super famous?” Mako would question.

“I don’t have a secret boyfriend!” Misa would argue, but her blush would give her away.

“I see you baking all the time and singing to yourself, you must have met someone!” Mako countered.

“Ugh, enough about me! Tell me how your doctor’s visit went.”

By the end of October, Mako was eight months pregnant and preparing to give birth to a baby girl. Misa had helped her make a nursery of the guest bedroom and they had read through every parenting book together. Sometimes, Misa would even go to birthing classes with Mako just so she had someone around. While Misa was happy to support her sister, and she was sure she would love her little niece, the whole parenting thing was very overwhelming for her. She was happy to just be the fun aunt who got to spoil the child.

Mako seemed pretty obsessed with Misa’s love life these days because she didn’t have one of her own. While her divorce from Takeo was still in the process of being finalized, Mako believed the fact that she was going to be a single mother was too taboo for anyone to want her. Misa figured she’d wait until after the baby was born to try to set her sister up on some blind dates.

Speaking of blind dates, Misa’s coworkers were determined to set her up with someone. It seemed like every week her manager was telling her all about her nephew or a photographer would tell her about one of their friends. Sometimes the other models would mention their brothers or a friend of a friend. Misa would always turn down these offers, and the others would often speculate why she was still single and had no interest in dating.

The truth was that she couldn’t let go of this idea that L would fall madly in love with her and the two of them would end up together. Even though he told her they couldn’t be together, he didn’t shy away from her flirting and she always felt this chemistry between them, even when they were just talking on the phone. She knew that he liked her and was attracted to her and that the only thing that was really keeping them apart was his fear of putting her in danger, but if Watari hadn’t said it was a bad idea, then how bad could it be? Naomi and Raye seemed supportive of it as well, whenever they spoke to her they would ask her about her crush and told her how nice she looked with L. It seemed to her like every sign in the universe was pointing them towards being together, but L just wouldn’t give in.

Misa often feared that if she tried to push too much, he would cut all contact with her. She feared that he might even decide just talking on the phone was too much and stop one day. She was afraid that day had come when it reached October 31st and she hadn’t received a call from him that week. It was already Friday and he usually called on Mondays or Tuesdays. She tried to assure herself that he was just busy with a case, but he had done this to her before. In her stress, she had decided to bake a cake.

Mako was out for the night at a Halloween party with some Americans that had visited her law firm. She had invited Misa to come along, but she wasn’t really in the mood. Normally Misa would jump at the chance to dress up and socialize with others, but tonight she just wanted to wallow in pity. She wore an oversized t-shirt that was now covered in some cake mix and mismatched socks with holes in them. Instead of her regular small pigtails that left the rest of her hair down, she had placed her hair in a messy bun. She hadn’t thought she needed to dress to impress someone tonight, but fate proved her wrong when she suddenly heard a knock at the door.

“Mako, is that you? I thought your party didn’t end until midnight?” Misa asked as she opened the door. Her jaw dropped when instead of her sister she found L standing at her door with his hands in his pockets.

“Hello, Misa. May I come in?” He asked politely.

Misa stood there in shock and had to slap her face to bring herself out of it. “Oh, hello! Good evening, you may come in. I mean, yes, come on in!” Misa stepped to the side and covered her face in embarrassment, but L made no comment and simply strode into her house.

He looked around the living room, observing all its contents while Misa stood there still wondering if any of this was real. She pinched herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming, and then felt stupid as she remembered she had slapped herself earlier.

As L stood there looking around the room, Misa realized just how messy it was. In the time that they had moved all their stuff from their parent’s house to Mako’s, the sisters hadn’t really organized anything and a bunch of boxes were still strewn about the place, some half emptied and some overflowing. The mess and Misa’s awkward behavior was making her incredibly embarrassed and she started messing with the hem of her shirt. However, this only reminded her of her own appearance and she started feeling very self-conscious. 

L turned to her with a small smile though and some of her worries melted away. “Are you making something? It smells nice.”

“Oh! Yes, I’m baking a cake!” She suddenly remembered and rushed off to the kitchen to check on it. Perfect timing because the cake was ready and she set it on top of the stove to cool down. She’d have to wait a bit before she could put any icing on it, but she was grateful that this all seemed to work out perfectly with L’s visit. She didn’t often keep sweets in the house, and when she did bake, Mako’s own cravings would usually lead her to devour the creations by the end of the day.

“What were you baking a cake for?” L asked casually. She hadn’t even noticed that he followed her into the kitchen and she jumped a bit when she spotted him.

“Oh, well uh, I got into baking recently. Well not that recent, I was always pretty good at baking, but I started baking a lot more after… Well, anyways I bake a lot now and Mako has those crazy pregnancy cravings so it works out pretty well, but you can definitely have this cake! I mean I didn’t make this cake specifically for you, but I would like for you to have it, if you want it that is.” Gods, she was rambling like an idiot again.

L only continued to smile at her though. “I’d like cake, that would be nice.” He turned around to explore her kitchen. “Any coffee?”

“Yes! In the cabinet there, and uh sugar cubes too! I know you like them in your coffee.” She blushed slightly and grabbed onto the end of her shirt again. She almost admitted that she bought them specifically for him in case he ever visited. She wasn’t sure he ever really would, but here he was. Why was he here?

L started a pot of coffee and found two coffee mugs to place on the counter while they waited. He began stacking sugar cubes and would look at her every now and then like he wanted to say something, but would turn back to focus on his little tower instead.

“So um, I’m happy you’re here, of course. But like, why are you here?” Misa asked when she wasn’t able to handle the quiet atmosphere any longer.

“Friends can’t visit each other?” He mused.

“Of course they can!” She quickly interjected. “I just, I guess I wasn’t expecting it. But I am happy that you’re here.”

“I’m happy to be here.” He admitted quietly. Finally, the coffee was ready, and he poured some for the both of them. He added a handful of sugar cubes to his own while she kept hers black. She blew on her mug lightly before taking a sip while L just gulped the thing down, not seeming to care at all about burning his tongue.

“I have a new lipstick commercial coming out soon. It’s my own brand. Misa-Misa’s Sweet Lips. Sounds kind of silly, doesn’t it?” She started, not knowing what else to talk about. They spoke on the phone so easily with each other, but being alone with him in her house caught her off guard and she was afraid if she did anything too ‘Misa’ he would run away.

“It sounds cute. I’m sure you’ll do well like you always do and people will buy it.”

“Oh, uh, thank you.”

“So, your sister isn’t here?” He suddenly asked.

“Oh, no. She’s at a party with some coworkers and Americans visiting the law firm.” Misa paused. “You haven’t actually met her yet, have you?”

“No, I haven’t.” He answered.

“You should meet one day. I think you two would get along. She’s really smart too.”

He smirked at that. “Perhaps.”

“Is Watari here too? Waiting outside?” Misa suddenly asked. The thought just occurred to her and she hadn’t seen the sweet old man since July. She’d like to give him a hug and talk to him too, and she really wouldn’t want to keep him waiting. Maybe L was only planning a short visit, though.

“Not tonight.” When he saw the confusion on her face, he slightly elaborated, “He’s taking care of some business for me.”

“Oh, man. I mean, I would have liked to see him. But at least you’re here! Did you drive yourself?”

“Yes, I did. I’m sure he’d like to see you too, if he weren’t busy.”

“This may sound silly, but I didn’t think you could drive. Well like, not that you didn’t have the ability, but that you just didn’t. Because Watari always drove you.”

“Well, I don’t have a license, but that can just be our little secret.” L gave her a small smile again, but something in the way he looked seemed almost sad to her. He had said he didn’t have any friends, did that mean she was his only friend? Maybe he was lonely.

“So uh, I need to ice this cake. But uh, we own a bunch of movies. Most of them are in boxes,” She said sheepishly, still thinking of the mess in the living room, “But you could pick one out while I ice this cake and we could watch a movie together. If you want.”

“That sounds lovely. Although I admit, I haven’t seen anything in a long time and don’t know what’s good.”

“You can just pick whatever looks interesting, I don’t mind. I’ve seen them all already.”

“Alright then.” And with that L poured himself another cup of coffee before heading off into the living room again.

Misa took the icing out of the fridge that she had made earlier and began icing the cake. It was a simple vanilla icing for a yellow cake, but L seemed to like all cake. She even had some strawberries she could put on the side if she wanted it to look fancier.

As she decorated the cake, Misa thought about how sad L seemed, and how Watari wasn’t with him. She really didn’t know much about his personal life, but it seemed like Watari was his caretaker, though the two didn’t seem to be related by blood. She wondered if he lost his parents too. Her heart ached as she thought about it and compared it to the grief that overtook her when she lost her own parents. Even though every day she seemed to be doing a little bit better, every now and then a sudden bout of sadness would wash over her and she’d struggle to think of anything else for the rest of the day. She kept busy with her work, but these episodes would hit her out of nowhere and she’d find herself crying at even the most inconvenient of times. She wondered if L ever felt that way.

Or maybe his line of work took a heavier toll on him than he let it appear. Maybe that was why he didn’t sleep so well and had those bags under his eyes. Maybe he developed that hunch in his back from carrying the weight of so much pressure, so much grief. He often acted very detached from his cases, but maybe he had to do that because the things he had seen had disturbed him so much that it was better to keep himself at a distance from others for his mental state.

Misa thought back to Ginger and how she wished she could have done something more to help the girl. She often felt guilty for how everything went down and would try to search for any sign of her and how she was doing. Maybe L had been that way with his first few clients, but eventually it grew to be too much. Especially if they didn’t have happy endings like Ginger.

When she decided the cake was finished, she grabbed a couple forks and made her way to the living room to set it down on the low table. L had already picked out what looked to be a romantic comedy with American actors and had already placed the tape in the VCR, waiting to press play until she was settled. Misa sat down on the floor pillow next to him with crossed legs, trying to sit as close to him as possible without invading his space.

“The cake looks lovely-”

“That’s a really good movie-”

They spoke at the same time and both blushed slightly. L made a hand gesture for her to go first, so she continued. “That’s a really good movie. I haven’t seen it in years, but I know it was my mom’s favorite.”

“I’m excited to watch it then. The cake looks really lovely, I’m sure it tastes amazing as well.” L complimented.

With that, L pressed play and they both grabbed their forks to dig into the cake. Normally, Misa was very careful about how many sweets she had, but tonight she wanted to share this with L. For some reason she felt like eating this cake with him would make him happy, and if it made him happy, then she was happy. She didn’t care much for cake, ice cream was her go to guilty pleasure, but her cake was nice and dense. After a couple of bites, she was finished, but L continued to shovel away.

“This cake is great. You’re a wonderful baker, Misa.” He praised between mouthfuls.

He finished eating his cake before the movie was over, and with an hour left, Misa found herself watching him more so than the film. His mood seemed to have picked up a bit, but there was still some lingering emotion she couldn’t describe. She decided to reach out and grab his hand and intertwine their fingers.

“Is this okay?” She asked nervously.

“Yes.”

She wasn’t foolish enough to believer her displays of affection would solve whatever issue he was going through, but she wanted to at least bring him some degree of comfort. She would squeeze his hand every now and then and she felt him squeeze back. They were holding hands just for the hell of it, but it made her happy and she hoped it made him feel a little more at ease too.

As the movie went on, L slowly got out of his crouched position and Misa found herself melting into his side. Eventually, he let go of her hand to throw his arm around her shoulder and the two remained cuddled there for the rest of the feature. L would trace his fingers up and down her arm as she rested her head against his chest. She could hear his heartbeat, slow and strong, and it made her feel safe. Like nothing in the world could hurt them right now.

They stayed like that for what felt like hours, and when the movie finally ended, Misa expected L to let go of her and make some excuse to leave, but instead he just stayed there, rubbing her arm. She could hear his heartbeat speed up a bit and pulled back to look at him. His eyes were so dark, and he was looking at her with some kind of hunger mixed with something else, but she couldn’t quite place it.

“Can I kiss you?” He asked suddenly. Her eyes widened, she really hadn’t expected him to make the first move. While technically, yes, he was the one who kissed her first every time, it was always as a result of her goading. But this time he was the one initiating it, and she couldn’t stop the butterflies swarming in her stomach.

“Yes,” she finally breathed. With his hand still resting on her shoulder, he reached down and captured her lips in a brief kiss. Then he kissed her lightly on her cheek, her other cheek, her nose, her forehead, and then was back at her lips again. He kissed her slowly, taking his time with it as if he were trying to savor every moment. It wasn’t like how he ate his cake, in a rush to enjoy the whole thing at once.

He reached up to undo her bun and let her hair down. She pulled away briefly to shake it out, but was quickly brought in for another kiss. As they continued to kiss, she felt L slowly push her to the floor, careful to place a pillow behind her head, and climb on top of her. His hands braced each side of her face and he leaned down to start trailing kisses down her neck. She was a bit ticklish and couldn’t help but giggle as he kissed her sweetly. In response, he sucked a bit more harshly, causing her to gasp.

Apparently, there was a sweet spot behind her ear, because when L started kissing and sucking there, she let out a loud, embarrassing moan. He pulled back to smirk at her, only to capture her lips in another heated kiss before returning to that spot. She was getting quite wet from the attention and started rubbing her thighs together to soothe the need she had. She was afraid if she asked for anything more, L would have second thoughts about it and break the moment.

L seemed to notice her flustered state though and after a long suck on the spot behind her ear, he placed a hand gently on her thigh. “Misa… Can I… Can I finger you?”

Misa blushed at his straightforwardness, but nodded. “Only if you want to.”

“I want to.” He said before kissing her again. As he kissed her soundly, his hand reached into her underwear and his fingers traced the wetness at her opening, spreading it up her folds and to her clit. He traced her clit with his middle finger, causing her hips to jerk up a bit, and she giggled nervously.

“I’ve uh… I’ve never done this with someone else before.” She admitted. He looked back at her with a bit of guilt, so before he could pull his hand away, she added, “But I want to! I like it. A lot.”

That seemed to settle his conscience, and he returned to tracing her clit with his finger and tapping on it gently. He would trace along her hood and down to her folds and come back to lightly tap on her hood before tracing around it again. The teasing and gentle pressure felt nice, but it wasn’t enough, so she asked, “Can you uh… massage it… like this?” She grabbed his thumb and pressed it more forcefully against her clit, moaning a bit. “It uh… feels nice.”

L kissed her lips and began massaging her clit in a circle with his thumb, making her let out another loud moan. That was exactly what she needed. “Tell me what else you like.” He whispered in her ear before sucking on the lobe.

“Mmm, fingers… you said you would… mmm… finger me…” She said in between moans.

He chuckled a bit, before slowly inserting one finger into her wetness. He thrust the finger in and out in a slow motion as he continued to massage her clit with his thumb. “Like this?”

“Mmmore.” She moaned. L added another finger and the two thrust together in that same slow motion, so she quickly added, “Faster.”

As his fingers sped up, he started making a come hither motion, stroking her G-spot, all the while still giving attention to her clit. He went a bit deeper than she usually did by herself, but the motion felt nice and she found herself bucking up into his hand and moaning slightly. She reached up to grab his hair and pull him into a kiss again, and he was happy to oblige.

As they continued kissing, Misa started to feel a pulsing between her legs. She started bucking into his hand faster and his fingers sped up again. His thumb had left her clit, but the friction of his palm rubbing against it still felt incredible. She was whining and moaning quietly into this kiss and L’s other hand reached under her shirt to stroke her nipple to encourage her further.

Her whole body felt hot and the pulsing increased, and she was trembling slightly. The intensity of it all was making her head spin a bit and she dug her nails into his back and clung to him as she felt herself nearing the edge. He was sucking on her lips hard enough to bruise and she was grinding into his palm at a rougher pace. Those long fingers of his continued to go deeper and it was a bit overwhelming, but it felt so good. With another thrust, she found herself falling off the edge, whimpering into his shoulder as she grinded through her orgasm.

When she finally calmed down from her high, he kissed her on the lips with a satisfied smile of his own. “You’re pretty good at that.” She smiled back.

“I admit, I have done this sort of thing before, but it’s been awhile. A long time, actually. I’m glad it felt good.” Misa wasn’t that surprised to hear he had experience, especially seeing as he was able to make her cum on his first try, but it made her wonder about just how experienced he was.

“It felt wonderful.” She brought him down for another kiss. “But uh, can I ask, how many…”

“How many sexual partners have I had?” She nodded. “Three, before you.”

“Have you ever gone all the way?” She asked next. He seemed a little flustered by this question, so she quickly said, “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“No it’s…” He trailed off, looking away. He didn’t seem to want to meet her eye for this confession. “I… never with a woman.”

“Oh.” She said, before the implication fully hit her. “Oh! That’s uh, I mean, that’s interesting. Not that it bothers me, unless you don’t like women.”

“I like women.” He said quickly. It was then that she finally noticed the hardness that was pressed against her thigh.

“Good, good. So do you want me to…”

Before she could finish that train of thought, her phone started ringing. Looking around the room for it, Misa followed the sound to see it was underneath the table. She frowned as she realized it was Mako calling and wondered if that meant something was wrong. Her sister rarely called her when they could just have a conversation at home.

“Mako-chan? What’s up?”

“Misa, my water broke.” Her sister said as if she were just talking about the weather.

“Ehhhhh? What? Now? The baby’s coming?” Misa jumped up and L got to his feet as well.

“Yes, my friend Hiyori is already taking me to the hospital. Can you grab the baby bag in my room and meet me there?”

“Yes of course.” She turned to L and smiled apologetically. They weren’t going to be able to finish this, and she was going to need to ask him for a ride.

“Great. See you soon.” Mako’s tone of voice didn't give away any sign of nervousness, but Misa felt all the nerves for her. The baby was a month early! They weren’t ready! How was her sister not more freaked out by this?

She tried to settle her nerves a bit by taking a deep breath and then turned to L, “I’m sorry we won’t be able to continue, but my sister is going into labor right now.”

“That’s alright. What do you need?”

Misa was a bit stunned at his immediate response to help her and it made her feel warm all over again. “If you could, there’s a baby bag in my sister’s room filled with all the stuff we need. Can you grab it? Her room’s that one just down the hall.”

“Of course.” As L went to retrieve the bag, Misa took the cake plate, silverware, and mugs into the kitchen to place them in the sink. She then quickly downed a cup of water to settle the nerves before running into her room to change into a sweater and jeans. Once she had her boots on, she found L waiting for her at the door.

“Thank you for doing this.” She said before reaching up to kiss him on the lips. They had a lot they needed to talk about, but it would have to wait until after this chaos.

“Of course.” He said again and led her out to the car.

They drove in relative silence with Misa feeling a bit weirded out by seeing L do something as normal as driving. He drove quickly though, and they made it to the hospital in just under ten minutes, most likely having broken a few traffic laws along the way. He drove around to drop her off at the front and she quickly grabbed the baby bag and jumped out of the car. She then realized he wouldn’t be coming with her and she’d have to say her goodbyes here.

“I’m glad you visited me, L. I hope I’ll hear from you soon.” She said with a smile as she stood by the car door, not wanting to let go just yet.

“I’ll call you.” He said. “Soon.”

“You better.”

She closed the door and rushed off to the entrance, feeling a lot more confident about the future.

.

A beautiful baby girl was born the next day, early in the morning. Mary Amane, born on the first of November. And with the new month came new life and new routines as Misa adjusted to the changes around her. By the end of the month, she was the happiest and most exhausted she had ever been, but it was all worth it. The world was filled with endless possibilities, and she was ready to take them all on.

But somewhere in another city, a high school boy was feeling the exact opposite about his life. The world around him was rotten, and he was tired of playing a role in a society filled with horrible, fake people. He had never been very good at connecting with others. The love he was supposed to feel for his fellow man never quite reached his heart and he often felt like he was putting on a show for the people around him. A show he was quickly growing tired of.

As he found himself bored in another class, he noticed a notebook fall into the courtyard. A little black book just laying there. He thought about it for the rest of class, wondering who it belonged to and what it contained. It was probably just a useless book filled with some lazy notes from some lesser student, but he liked to think that maybe the notebook would be something special just for him to find.

When class was over, he was surprised to find the note still just laying there. He reached down to grab it, turning it around to read the cover. “Death Note.” He read aloud. Heh, maybe his day did just get a bit more interesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woooo what a transition! But finally we've arrived at the start of the main series! 
> 
> Man, I could really use a wingman like Watari. The pandemic's got me lonely as hell. Good thing there's fanfiction to fill the void. 
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed the first taste of smut! We'll see a bit more as we continue on with the series! Also, I headcanon L as bisexual, but I don't ship him with Light at all. So there will be no ot3 in this in case I needed to make that clear. Just L x Misa, and maybe Misa fawning over strong women every now and then. 
> 
> Light is finally here, but this will be the only chapter that includes a bit of his POV. I hope I wrote him alright, I know he's not supposed to necessarily be evil without the Death Note, but I feel like he was kind of a sociopath even before Ryuuk entered his life. Just my personal opinion. 
> 
> I've got a midterm this week and another one next week, but I'll try to keep an update schedule of every Sunday night/early Monday morning. 
> 
> Thanks as always for reading!


	10. Let Me Go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more kiss could be the best thing  
> But one more lie could be the worst  
> And all these thoughts are never resting   
> And you’re not something I deserve  
> In my head there’s only you now  
> This world falls on me  
> In this world there’s real and make believe  
> And this seems real to me  
> You love me but you don’t know who I am  
> I’m torn between this life I lead and where I stand  
> And you love me but you don’t know who I am   
> So let me go   
> Let me go   
> \- 3 Doors Down, “Let Me Go”   
> I don’t usually do the whole song before a chapter thing, but I think this is a really good song for understanding where L’s head is at in this chapter.

Chapter 10

December 4, 2003

It was 5:47am on a Thursday that L found himself sitting in front of his computer screen on the floor of another random hotel in France, waiting for the ICPO meeting in another country to begin. The meeting was occurring in China at 1pm, and with the seven-hour time difference, L only had thirteen minutes to prepare himself for what he wanted to say at this meeting.

He had hoped that he might have at least an one week advantage to investigate the recent string of heart attack related deaths before the police forces around the world would catch on to the suspicious pattern, but he was only afforded a three day head start. Unfortunately, there would be no avoiding working with the police on this case. L believed most police forces to be largely incompetent, and he worked much better by himself or with a small team of trusted associates, but he would have to make do for this unprecedented situation.

By his calculation, there had been at least 300 heart attack related deaths in the last five days that did not seem to be related to preexisting conditions. Looking at the data the United States collected on cardiovascular disease, at least 2,000 people died each day from it in their country, but these deaths were occurring around the world in other countries that did not have as big a problem with heart disease.

At first L thought that the police might be involved in this recent string of murders as many of the reported victims had been those who were already behind bars. Perhaps they were testing new injections on criminals? Or new foods were being served in the prisons? It didn’t seem like something out of the ordinary for most nations, especially the United States, but after wasting a few hours digging there, he came up with nothing. His sources connected to the prison industrial complex had nothing for him and he then found that a large rate of victims had been wanted criminals who had not yet been arrested.

After discovering that the majority of the victims did not have preexisting conditions and that the only commonality had been that they were criminals reported on the news, L found a new direction for his investigation. If he could find the first victim, he would be able to find the killer. All of the victims seemed to be reported on global news channels, except for one, the very first known surprise incident of a criminal dying of a heart attack, Kurou Otoharada on November 28th. Otoharada had no prior record before he held people up in a hostage situation around 6:30pm last Friday. The incident had only been reported on the local news in Tokyo, making it likely that the killer L was looking for was from Japan.

From there, things seemed to slowly fall into place. The majority of the victims had actually been from Japan and the majority of their deaths occurred between 4pm and 2am Japan time on weekdays. Yes, L was certain that the culprit he was looking for was from Japan. Being able to narrow the list of suspects to one country may not have seemed like much, and for other cases it wouldn’t be, but this was different. This was the worst serial killer L had seen in history, and they seemed to have some sort of power that allowed them to kill so many so quickly.

While L had done the work to figure out the location of his suspect, L still could not determine how these murders were being conducted. He had a theory he would have to test out, but he would need the ICPO to cooperate with him to accomplish this, hence the important meeting. L knew that he was greatly respected by the police for being able to solve so many cases in their place, but he also knew his reputation of only choosing cases that were interesting to him had placed some doubts in their heads. Nevertheless, he was 88% confident they would go along with his plan with little explanation needed from him, even if they were uncertain. If his test worked the way he expected it to, they would understand his meaning in no time.

When Watari gave L word of this meeting, he became more certain that the police, or at least those attached to the ICPO, were not directly involved in the murders, as even they didn’t know what was happening. That didn’t mean the killer didn’t have connections to the police, however. L would have to be careful in the set up and execution of his plan. At the moment, only Watari and the two FBI agents L worked with indirectly on his last case knew of the location L was planning to hold his confrontation with the killer from.

The plan was simple in nature, complicated in execution. He would take a criminal already scheduled to be executed the next day and have them pretend to be L. They would serve as L’s puppet, saying to the killer exactly what L would say in a face to face scenario, but while being filmed by the two FBI agents that had already been cleared by L. The broadcast would be live and although they would say it was being shown all over the world, it would only be shown in Japan, starting with the largest region, Kanto, before testing the others. If the criminal died as the justice system had already determined they should, no harm, no foul. If they survived, they would be pardoned for their crimes. L was 98% sure that his opponent would not allow the fake L to live.

Kira, as the internet had dubbed the killer, obviously wanted to be known by the public. With so many deaths in such a short period of time with such a clear pattern, it was obvious that they wanted people to catch on and understand that they were punishing criminals. They had gained some sort of power, tested it out on their first victim, and now planned to show the world what they were capable of. As L stood in the way of that, he was certain his opponent would not hesitate to take him out. He was counting on it.

He had already chosen his fake Kira just the other day as he was forming this trap. Penber had recently reported to him that Lind L. Tailor was scheduled to be executed on December 5th at 5pm Japan time. The trial and sentencing had been a speedy process, not that anyone knew that Mary Amane had been Deneuve, but Kiyoshi Amane had been a well respected figure in the business world of Japan and his allies wanted revenge on his murderer. It worked to L’s favor that Tailor had a name that fit with the L persona, and his status as a foreigner from the States made it more likely for people to believe he was the real L. He was an older man as well, not too old, but old enough to be considered experienced in the field. He fit L’s needs quite nicely, and the detective told himself the choice had absolutely nothing to do with Misa.

There were other criminals scheduled to be executed on that day of course, and looking outside of Japan he could have found the other boxes checked off as well, but it was easier to find someone already in the same country as L’s suspect. It was moral to choose someone who had already been prosecuted and sentenced in Japan rather than bringing in a criminal that had gone through the criminal justice proceedings elsewhere. Not all of the nations had the same standards, after all. If it just so happened that this might be something that would make Misa happy or feel more at ease, well then that was just a happy accident. Or an unintended consequence.

Honestly, if L could have chosen someone else, he would have. If Misa had not already caught onto the Kira murders, this would surely attract her attention to the case, and L wanted to keep her as far away from this as possible. He was quickly realizing that he didn’t really know what he was up against and that this would be the hardest case of his career. And with the test he was planning for tomorrow, he wasn’t even 100% confident that he would survive, but he was pretty sure things would go as he theorized. He didn’t want Misa to be dragged into this, and he definitely didn’t want to see her hurt.

Speaking of hurting, it was already Thursday and he had not called her yet this week. She would be expecting an explanation, especially once she learned of tomorrow’s outcomes. She might even expect him to visit her again considering the last time he missed their weekly call, that’s what he did. He would most likely eventually have to travel to Japan to work more directly on the case once he got closer to narrowing down his list of suspects. Perhaps when he travelled, he could- No. What was he thinking? He couldn’t visit Misa again.

It shouldn’t have even happened the first time. He wasn’t thinking, if he had been, he wouldn’t have gone. He knew nothing good would come of it, and now he had gone and made things worse. It had only happened because of a series of circumstances. His last case had been in Indonesia, which wasn’t too far off from Japan, and Misa was the only person he knew closest to his geographical location. Watari had needed to head back to the Wammy House for an emergency, so L was alone, and he couldn’t take on a new case without his right-hand man. Well, he could have, but it was that time of year again where he always found himself in a depressive episode. His birthday.

Watari had asked L to travel back to England with him, but L didn’t want to go near that orphanage again. Ever since he had to explain to Mello what happened to his former roommate… Well, it had been tough for him. And heading back on his birthday of all days didn’t seem like the best idea for his mental health. He also didn’t want to be alone, so he had booked himself a flight to Osaka and rented a car to see a friendly face. Because he and Misa were friends. Or at least, that’s what they were supposed to be.

He hadn’t meant for anything to happen between them. He just figured she would provide some company and maybe he’d convince her to eat sweets with him and she’d tell him all about how her career was booming. She often talked about her career and her friends with him on the phone, so he didn’t think it would be any different face to face. He knew she had a habit of teasing him, and maybe the number of cold showers he took had increased ever since he first met her, but it was under control. They had kissed to get it out of their systems back in July, and so there was no reason for anything more to happen between them.

 _Except_ for the small detail that he never actually got it out of his system. The little tidbit that he often dreamed about her. The fact that he collected all her magazines and watched her every commercial. The reality that her teasing phone calls left him frustrated and he had maybe touched himself after a few of them. But what did any of that really mean? Dreams didn’t hold nearly as much meaning as people thought they did, people often dreamed about what they saw in their day to day life, and sex dreams were just as normal as every other dream. Collecting pieces of her work just meant he was a fan, and why shouldn’t he be? She was very talented at her job. And in those phone calls she had been trying to provoke a reaction from him, it was only normal that he responded. He was only human.

It wasn’t like he was in denial. He’d known from day one that he found her physically attractive. He liked her personality and they got along well, so there was no reason for him not to like her. Everyone on his team liked Misa, she was a very likable person. He knew he was infatuated with her, and he knew she held similar feelings towards him, but he also knew there was no possibility of a relationship between them. It would only end in disaster. And so, they decided to be friends, and they were _just_ friends.

But the moment he walked in the door and saw her in that large t-shirt and socks with nothing else, he knew he had made a mistake. And yet, he could not find the willpower to leave. He hadn’t meant for things to go the way they did, but she had been soft and comforting and there was something in her eyes that night that felt like she saw him. Really, truly saw _him_ , and not just L. Nobody ever saw _him_.

It was a ridiculous notion, they had only known each other for half a year, and she didn’t _really_ know him. He knew her, he knew everything there was to know, but he could never allow her in the same way she let him in. It was for her protection. If anything happened to her, he’d… Well, there was about an 89% chance that if something bad happened to Misa, L wouldn’t be able to think rationally until he recovered from his grief.

Maybe he was a bit emotionally attached to the blonde. She was definitely a huge distraction. In the month that followed their last encounter, he had maintained their weekly call while also being able to avoid any talk of what the incident meant for their relationship. He had convinced her that they needed to have that talk face to face, which he truly did believe, but he also knew it would be a long time before he saw her again if ever. However, their phone calls had taken on a new tone and had become more frequent.

They didn’t just talk about her life anymore, he would sometimes tell her about what was going on in his life, without giving too many details about the cases he was working on. He would tell her what countries he’d been to recently, what sights he’d seen, and what sweets Watari purchased for him. There was also a lot more flirting on her end and maybe he was more responsive to it than he had been before. There was no harm in being more receptive of her flirting, and it made her happy when he didn’t cut her off or try to get her stop like he would have before.

In the end, she had been right. Talking on the phone didn’t put her in any danger and nobody but Watari knew about their weekly, or sometimes biweekly, calls. He found that he looked forward to these calls and hearing her voice again. Despite the fact that he was always busy, and that she had become much busier in the past month with her career and the birth of her niece, they always made time for each other. On one occasion, they even fell asleep while talking to each other.

He enjoyed where their relationship was at currently, there was no danger to her and no need to define things. They could simply just have fun with this little thing they had. Before the Kira case began, he had even thought that maybe he could chance a visit to her again, especially as her 19th birthday was coming up. All of that had changed in the last week though, and L knew he’d need to pull away from her again.

He was going to be quite busy holding meetings with the ICPO and he was afraid that once she learned about Tailor, she would want to be involved in the case. He planned on calling her tomorrow, after the showdown with Kira. He would explain everything to her and why it meant they needed to put some space between them until the case was over. Maybe she would understand and maybe she wouldn’t, but no matter the outcome, L would keep his distance to protect her. He would not allow her to get tangled up in another mess.

.

“I can’t believe it. He’s dead. Lind Tailor is dead. He’s really dead! He is dead, right L? Gosh, it’s not right to be happy about something like this, but it’s true, isn’t it?”

“Yes, Misa.” L had expected this response from her, but he had not expected her happy reaction to make him happy. That was wrong, wasn’t it?

“Thank you, L. Thank you so much! I feel like my parents’ spirits can finally rest now.” He could hear the struggle in her voice, she was holding back tears. She tried not to talk about her parents very often, but L knew from Misora and Penber that she had frequently visited their old house and sometimes would start crying out of nowhere when something reminded her of them. It was a pain he could relate to, and he thought it best not to point it out whenever she was dealing with her grief.

“He was scheduled to be executed on this day; it would have happened either way. There’s no need to thank me.” Sometimes he feared the only reason she liked him was because of this hero worship she seemed to hold for him. He wanted her to know he wasn’t a hero. He wanted her to see _him_. And yet, he also didn’t want her to know about all the things he had done, and was willing to do, to solve a case. He didn’t want her to see him as a monster either.

“Ah, that’s true. But at least this way it helps you with your case! I hear they are calling the killer ‘Kira’ online. Is it true he only kills criminals? And with heart attacks? How can that be?” She was getting excited and he could tell she expected him to tell her more about the case, even though he tried not to tell her anything about cases she wasn’t involved in in the past. But she considered herself involved because it was the murderer of her parents that Kira killed. He knew this would happen.

“Misa, I want to be very clear about this. I don’t want you looking anything up about Kira. I don’t want you involved in this case.” He had to be firm with her, otherwise she’d push, and he’d give.

“O-oh, Misa just thought that-That maybe you’d ask for my help on this case. I just wanted to know…” Her agency had her pick up this Misa-Misa persona recently where she often spoke in the third person. He knew she felt kind of stupid doing it, but her fans seemed to respond well to it. He wondered if maybe he made her feel stupid just then and that caused the slip up. That wasn’t his intention.

“This is a very dangerous case. I don’t want you anywhere near it. In fact, it would be best if we did not call each other as often until it is over.” He tried to say it lightly, as lightly as one could manage with a monotone voice like his, but he knew the odds of her taking this well weren’t high.

“What? I thought you said it was okay for us to call each other, that it didn’t put me in any danger. Why do you need to pull away now?” Her voice was becoming a little more shrill, that wasn’t a good sign. He wanted to appease her.

“It’s only for the time being.”

“For the-? Well how long is that going to be?” Before he could answer, she interjected again. “Today you asked him to kill you! What if you die? Do you want this to be the last conversation we have?”

Did she actually see the broadcast? It was only given in the Kanto region of Japan, and she’s supposed to be in Osaka. “Are you in Tokyo right now?” An educated guess.

“What? Well, yeah, for a magazine shoot, but that’s not important! You’re avoiding my questions!”

So, she saw the broadcast. As it is currently 2am Japan time, she must have been waiting for him to call her for hours so she could question him on what happened. He had expected Misora or Penber to tell her what happened and to only tell her about Tailor, he hadn’t expected her to see the broadcast herself. No matter. “I am prepared to die for any case if need be.”

“But you don’t have to be! Let me help you!”

“In what ways would you help?”

“Well, I don’t know, but you could figure it out! Please? Isn’t it better when we’re together?” He had to admit, he did like being together, but there’s no way he’d risk losing her.

“There’s no role for you on this case. I would only be putting you in danger. I won’t do that again.” He should have left that last part out, he knows she’s going to disagree.

“You didn’t put me in danger! I put me in danger! But it doesn’t matter, if others are willing to risk their life then I will be too! I want to be useful!” Useful? He doesn’t like that; it sounds and feels wrong.

“Misa, I would be happiest if you stayed far away from this case and remained safe. I will still call you when I can, but I will be busier than before.”

“Aren’t you coming to Japan? Kira is in Japan, isn’t he? We could stay in a hotel together again and I would stay hidden and I wouldn’t get involved, but at least we’d be able to see each other.” A small part of him wanted to agree to this, even though he knew the idea was ridiculous. He couldn’t just hide her away in a hotel forever.

“Misa, being anywhere near me would put you in danger. That’s why we agreed on the phone calls. Maybe once the case is over, we can go somewhere together...” He hadn’t meant to offer that aloud, but now it was out there, and as he thought about it, it was an intriguing idea. He might never have another case like this one, maybe settling down- No. He needs to end this conversation; he isn’t thinking clearly.

“Will you at least call me for Christmas?” He didn’t expect her to give in so quickly, it was a little suspicious, but it would be better to end this call on a happy note.

“I will do my best. I know how important it is.” He had already bought a present for her, two, actually. He really hoped the case would be solved before then so he could give them to her.

“Thank you, L. I’m sorry if I’m being annoying, I just miss you.”

“I-” …miss you too… “will call you when I can.” _Coward_.

“Goodnight, L.”

“Goodbye, Misa.”

.

December 19, 2003

L was able to put together more of a profile for his suspect in the coming days, but he still was no closer to figuring out how _exactly_ his suspect killed. It was strange, Kira had killed Tailor so quickly, but with all L’s goading, Kira hadn’t been able to kill him. It appeared that because Kira did not know what L looked like, he could not kill him. But somehow Kira had the power to kill people without directly being in the room… After all, from the cameras he had installed, he saw only Tailor and the two FBI agents in the recording room before Tailor suddenly dropped dead from a heart attack. Some sort of paranormal power seemed to be involved, it seemed ridiculous, but perhaps not unlikely. After all, he’d seen criminals with paranormal powers before.

The Kira Task Force had provided him more information about the times of death. While on weekdays the killings occurred between 4pm and 2am, on weekends and holidays the deaths were more scattered between 11am and 2am. From this information, it seemed likely that his suspect was a student, killing after classes and in his free time. However, he should have been careful in sharing this theory with the police, because three days later Kira had changed up his killing pattern, killing prisoners every hour for two weekdays. Kira had discovered that they were figuring out his pattern and needed to change it up, but also he had revealed that he could control the time of death. It seemed that Kira was directly challenging him and may have duped him before when leading him towards the theory that his suspect was a student.

L didn’t want too many others to get involved in this case just yet, especially when it seemed likely that his opponent could kill his victims with just a name and a face, but the leak of information from the task force was concerning. And just a few days ago, several members had walked out after revealing that every victim who died had their face shown. L understood that these officers had families and that not all of them would be willing to risk their lives for this case, but with L also having his doubts about the force, it was also a bit suspicious. L needed to handle the information leak right away, and this would help him narrow his list of suspects, so he reached out to the FBI again. They had provided him with trusted associates thus far, and he thought it was unlikely that they were involved in the killings.

In fact, he was quite sure the person he was looking for was either a member of the task force in Japan or one of their family members, and going off of his earlier prediction, he decided to have someone he had worked with before follow the students on the list of suspects.

“Penber, the first one on the list I would like you to follow is Yagami Light.”

“Of course, L. He’s the son of the chief, right?”

“Yes, be careful while following him and be sure he does not see you. If you are caught, do not reveal your name to him.”

“Understood.”

L was surprised that Penber had agreed to the case as he had learned from Misa that he and Misora had become engaged and were planning a wedding for next fall. He almost felt bad for getting the man involved in the case, but Penber knew the risks and would not have accepted if he wasn’t sure it was worth it. Part of him wished that Misora was still an agent as he saw her as the more competent one of the two, but Misa would be devastated if something happened to both of them… Well, that’s not why it’s important.

L had other concerns that were much more pressing. Today he had received information from Watari about three new victims that had died under more unusual circumstances. One had signed a picture in blood, one had left a note, and another had escaped prison and collapsed in a public restroom. It seemed that Kira was testing something with these new victims and revealing that he could not just control the time of death but could also control the actions of a person before they died.

L had told the task force not to reveal these deaths to the media, but he couldn’t be sure the members wouldn’t share this information with their families, once again throwing more suspicion onto them. With his FBI agents following these suspects, they would surely notice someone acting off, especially if Kira is planning something big right now as L believes.

There was also the matter of the secret message left to him, “L, do you know?” Do you know… what? For now, he’d leave the suspects to the agents and he’d focus on these messages coming from the prisons. It was important for him to look over them and see what else Kira was trying to tell him, maybe he’d leave another clue. Kira was becoming bold, and when one is bold, they open themselves up more to possibility of making a mistake.

He needed to find Kira and put a stop to this monster. Someone who killed and had no problem using others as guinea pigs. Someone who seemed to have the ability to kill with just a face and a name. This was the worst murderer L had ever seen and with a power so terrifying that he needed to be stopped as soon as possible.

It was already the 19th, and Misa’s birthday was in just a few days. L hadn’t called her since Tailor’s death, he’d been too busy trying to narrow his list of suspects and figure out the extent of Kira’s power. He doubted that his rival would take a break for the holidays, but he wanted to keep his promise to Misa. In the past few days, he had moved into a random hotel in Japan, and he had to fight the absurd urge to go and visit her.

He missed her. He knew that she was safe, much safer without his presence, but his desire to go and see her was strong. He felt stupid, he knew it was a bad idea, but something was always pulling him towards her, it was hard to fight. These feelings were dangerous, dangerous for both of them. He needed to let them go, he needed her to let him go. It was a good thing she didn’t know his number or how to contact him, or surely, he’d give in to these feelings. He knew getting close to each other was a bad idea, they were only going to end up hurt.

He had been pacing around his apartment for an hour, he needed to take a break. And though his fingers itched for his phone, it was another cup of coffee that he grabbed instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> L: Am I in love with Misa Amane? OF COURSE NOT.   
> Everyone: Uh... I didn't ask you that. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed L's POV! I hope this made it more clear where his head is at in their relationship and also with the case. I tried to follow the manga pretty closely and add on more thoughts so it was more believable how he narrowed it down so quickly. We also get some nice ~foreshadowing~ 
> 
> I'll be following canon for a bit, but there will be a break from it soon. This is my own reimagining and we gotta fit the relationship in there somehow, so I hope you all like the changes I make! 
> 
> Until next time! Thanks as always for reading!


	11. The World Comes Crashing Down

Chapter 11

December 25, 2003

Misa woke up on her 19th birthday at 11:00, not feeling very well rested despite sleeping in so late. She was usually up by 7:00, but ever since the baby took up residence in their house, she found herself sleeping in on holidays and weekends. She loved her little niece, but she was happy to have no more responsibility than being the fun aunt to the child. Mako was an incredible mother, and despite all the taboo in their society surrounding single moms, Misa was certain Mako was much more capable by herself than she would have been with Takeo. Still, Misa hadn’t moved out just yet because she wanted to be sure Mako had an extra pair of helping hands around.

Lately, more and more of Misa’s work was being moved to Tokyo and Misa found herself staying with her model friends there during the work week and only returning home on weekends. Mako was still on maternity leave, and insisted she didn’t need any help, but Misa knew her sister tended to throw herself into taking care of others and didn’t look after herself enough. Misa would always clean up the house or cook whenever she could just so Mako didn’t have to do it all on her own. She was kind of hoping she could convince her sister to move to Tokyo with her, but she knew Mako loved Osaka and her whole life was there.

Taking the train back and forth between the two cities was tiring, and Misa knew sooner or later she would have to make the commitment to move to Tokyo fully, but she wasn’t ready to leave her family. It was silly, but Misa was afraid something would happen to Mako and baby Mary if she left. Sometimes she wouldn’t sleep during her nights in another city, wondering what was happening with her family, but not wanting to call and risk waking the baby. These thoughts had persisted ever since her birthday month arrived, and a small part of Misa recognized that these thoughts were tied to losing her parents and the fact that this would be her first birthday without them, but she’d rather pretend that she was just being silly and scared of moving to the big city and settling down in her career. She was simply afraid of adult life, that’s all there was to it.

As much as she tried to convince herself of this, she still found herself quietly sobbing on that Thursday morning, covering her mouth so the others wouldn’t hear her. Sometimes she convinced herself that everything was fine, that her parents were still alive and just away on a long vacation like her mother used to take when she was younger. Of course, Misa eventually learned that her mother was often abroad for cases, not vacations, but she was retired so these would be real vacations now. Any day now she’d get a call from her mother telling her how lovely France was and how she’d need to come visit herself one day.

It was so easy to pretend. To bury herself in her work and tell everyone that she was completely fine. Her star power was burning bright and these days people even talked about the possibility of her being cast in a movie or a tv show. She knew how proud her parents would be, and those thoughts would make her happy at first, but then she’d be left with this emptiness after the crushing realization that she’d never get to share any of these moments with them again. She wouldn’t be able to tell them about her first acting gig or about her new friends or about L.

She missed them so, so much. Her birthday was just another reminder of all they’d miss out on. All the things she’d never be able to experience with them ever again. She felt sick to her stomach suddenly and had no desire to get out of bed, but she knew Mako would come to her door eventually so they could go open presents. It was Christmas after all, and she was sure Mako would want to watch movies and bake cookies like they used to. It was better to just get on with the day and push these feelings aside.

.

After showering, Misa put on a simple sweater dress and stockings and put her usual pigtails up in bright red bows. It wasn’t like her usual gothic attire she now wore, but it was an outfit her mother would’ve loved. Once she was finally ready, she went into the living room to find her sister and niece.

“Oh, you look so cute today, Misa-Misa!” Her sister called from her spot on the floor, baby Mary laying peacefully in her arms.

“Thank you, Mako-chan. Are you ready to open presents?” Misa asked as she sat down as well. They had a small tree set up with only a handful of presents underneath, but Mary was not yet two months old and wouldn’t remember this Christmas, and besides they bought most of the stuff she needed before she was born. And the sisters usually only bought one present for each other every year. Mako would buy Misa something really big that would cover Christmas and her birthday.

“Yes, I’ve got everything organized. All of Mary’s presents are at the front, let’s start with those first.” With Mary being a little baby, the sisters had to open all her presents for her, so Misa opened the presents from Mako and vice versa. Mako had bought more diapers and a big teddy bear whereas Misa had bought several cute little dresses for her niece.

“Oh, I love this one with the little Santa hat, let’s dress her in it now!”

Once her niece was properly dressed, and with minimal crying, the two moved on to the presents they had gotten each other. Misa usually went to her mother for advice for presents, but this year she had to come up with something on her own. She tried to think the way her mother would and go from there.

“A ticket for one day at the spa? Oh, Misa, that’s so sweet, but I don’t know-” Mako looked happy at first, but then looked over at her daughter, feeling conflicted.

“I’ll watch Mary for the day. You deserve a day off where you can get some rest.” Misa encouraged. She knew that Mako had traded one full time job for another, and this one kept her up all night.

“I’ll think about it.” Mako assuaged, and then quickly added, “Now open your present from me! You’re going to love it!”

Misa found her present at the back of the tree, it was heaviest looking one. When she opened it, she found a brand new laptop. “Oh, Mako-chan, thank you! You didn’t have to spend so much!”

“I wanted you to have something you could bring with you to Tokyo, since the desktop in your room is all clunky and heavy. This will be much more useful, especially with you travelling back and forth so often.”

Mako always thought so practically, it made Misa chuckle a bit. She gave her older sister a big hug before they headed into the kitchen for lunch.

“What do you want to do for the rest of the day? Watch Christmas movies and bake cookies?” Misa asked.

“You know I love our traditions, but it’s also your birthday. Is there anything special you want to do? Like… call up that mystery man of yours?” Mako teased.

Misa tensed just a bit, but quickly shrugged her shoulders to try to look casual. She hadn’t spoken with L ever since that call after Tailor died. He had told her he would try to call her today, but she wasn’t so sure he would. Kira was still at large, and L was probably still incredibly busy with the case.

“You know I don’t have a boyfriend. But maybe we could call up Naomi and Raye, Naomi told me they’d be in town for the holidays.” Misa said, although she knew that wasn’t the real reason they were here.

Naomi had called her in a panic just a couple days ago. Apparently, Raye had experienced a bus jacking while tracking down a suspect, and while he believed the suspect was innocent, Naomi believed that they had planned it all out.

“Don’t you think it’s suspicious? Right when Raye is following this guy, a bus jacking occurs and suddenly they are working together to try to stop the guy? And then the bus jacker has some weird freak out and dies?” Naomi hadn’t sounded like her normal calm self, but Misa couldn’t blame her for freaking out when her fiancé’s life was at risk.

“That does sound weird, but there has to be a reason Raye trusted him, right?” Misa wasn’t as smart as Raye, and while part of her was sure he’d never make the mistake of trusting the wrong person, even her older sister had made that mistake before.

“Raye told me to leave it alone when I tried to press for more details. He told me he doesn’t want me getting involved in the case.” Naomi sighed.

A dark chuckle left Misa as she replied, “Yeah, I’ve heard that before too.”

“So I guess you haven’t spoken to L lately?”

“Nope, he’s ghosting me again. I know he’s busy, but I wish he’d make more of an effort to reach out.” Misa tried not to say too much, she hadn’t told anyone exactly how her relationship with L had evolved over the past couple of months before the Kira case began, but she had a feeling Naomi already had a pretty good idea of what went on between the two.

“Fuck him.”

“Naomi!”

“No, seriously. Fuck him. Tell him off, he deserves it. Men are assholes.” Naomi had never been so crass before, it was not something Misa was expecting.

“Come on, you don’t mean that. You love Raye, you’re just worried about him, and even more so because you’re not working on the case with him.” Misa had tried to reason.

“Yeah, you’re right. Sometimes I wish… Well, it doesn’t matter now. Listen, I should get going, but I’ll call you again later this week!”

Misa tried not to think about it too much, but she wondered if the case Raye was on was the Kira case. It bothered her that L would enlist his help and not hers, even though she knew that was ridiculous. Raye was a trained FBI agent and Misa was just a model. Still, she could charm people when she needed to and could get some information for him. She just wanted to see him again.

She was also worried for Raye; Naomi’s nerves had set off her own and she found herself wondering if Raye had come in contact with Kira. Surely if he had, he would have died and Naomi would have told her. Raye was still alive, so it had to be fine. She hoped it was fine.

.

Mako had called Naomi as Misa suggested, and the couple answered the phone to sing happy birthday to the blonde. Unfortunately, they were at Naomi’s mother’s house at the moment, actually visiting family, but they said they’d try to stop by later if it was okay with the sisters.

With that, the girls settled in for a movie marathon of Christmas classics as they drank hot chocolate and ate the cookies they baked earlier.

“Are you sure there isn’t anything else you want to do for your birthday this year? We could go out and see the lights.” Mako suggested.

“No, I like it here, with you and the baby. I don’t need anything else besides spending time with family.” Misa’s voice cracked just a bit on the last word and Mako squeezed her hand. “Sorry, it’s just… hard.”

“I know. It’s the first one without them. It’s okay if we’re still grieving.” It was then that Misa noticed that Mako had teared up a bit too. She wasn’t the only one still processing the loss of their parents, after all.

“One day at a time.”

“Yes, one day at a time.”

Misa rested her head on her sister’s shoulder as they continued to sniffle and talk about their parents. Everything had felt heavier than usual lately and Misa needed this time to process all her emotions. She knew that they should get back to watching Christmas movies so they could finish them before it was too late and Mako had to put Mary to bed, but Misa wanted to just stay in this moment with her sister, they didn’t get many like this one anymore. Both of them had tried so hard to move on with their lives, it was nice to have these quiet times where they could just be two sad girls who missed their mom and dad.

When they did turn the movies back on, they decided to play their mom’s favorite movie and then their dad’s. They talked about how their mom would always fall asleep during movies, cuddled up on the couch after a long day of work. Or how their dad would quietly mumble every line to his favorite films and laugh so loudly at the jokes he had heard a million times. Or even how their dad would carry their mom off to bed, kissing her on the forehead before carrying her off like a princess. These things used to embarrass them when they were younger, but now Misa loved them. Her parents had been so in love with each other, she hoped she would get that one day too. She hoped she had already found that.

.

As it was getting later, Mako decided to put baby Mary to bed. She promised she’d come right back for another film, but then she got a call from an old coworker and disappeared into her room for a bit. Misa stayed on the couch, drinking another cup of hot chocolate and trying to decide what movie to play next, when she suddenly heard a knock at the door.

She quickly got up and fixed herself up in the mirror by the door before answering it. Though she was expecting Raye and Naomi, it was a familiar old man who greeted her at the door.

“Watari!” She called as she jumped to give him a hug. He chuckled a bit as he caught her and hugged her with one arm, the other noticeably holding two small presents.

“I’m so glad to see you! How are you?” Misa asked as she finally stepped back. Part of her was hoping to see L behind him, but it seemed he had come alone.

“It’s wonderful to see you again as well, Miss Amane. I’m doing quite well, but I believe you have a phone call to answer.” Right as he said this, Misa’s cell phone began to ring from the table, and he gave her a knowing smile.

Misa hurried back to answer it, inviting the old man inside. Although part of her was upset it had taken him so long to call her, the other part of her was overwhelmingly overjoyed to finally hear from him again. “Hello?” She answered, trying not to sound too excited.

“Hello, Misa. Merry Christmas, and Happy Birthday.” L said in a slightly warmer voice than his usual bored, monotone.

“Thank you! I’m so happy to hear from you!” She tried not to tear up again, but it seemed she was having an emotional day. Watari reached into his pocket to hand her a small packet of tissues, which she quietly accepted.

“It’s good to hear your voice again too. I knew I couldn’t be there, but I still wanted to hear your reaction when you open my presents.”

Misa turned back to Watari, who held out the two presents to her, and she accepted them both as she sat back down on her couch to open them. “Which one do I open first?” She asked excitedly.

“The lighter one. That one’s your birthday present.” L said, sounding a bit nervous. Misa held both up and the one on the left did feel heavier than the other one. They were both small boxes and she wondered if they contained jewelry, but the one on the left felt too heavy to be jewelry. Nevertheless, she followed his instructions and opened the one on the right.

What she found was a gold locket necklace shaped like a heart with a floral design on the front. The necklace looked like an antique and she held it delicately in her hands. At Watari’s encouraging, she opened the locket to find a picture of her mother on one side and a picture of her father on the other. She gasped lightly as she traced the pictures with her finger. Before she knew it, she was crying yet again, and Watari was handing her more tissues.

“Do… do you like it?” L asked anxiously. She could not find the words and started nodding like an idiot before she remembered he couldn’t see her.

After a steadying breath, she finally answered, “Yes! It’s beautiful, L. Thank you, thank you so much! I… I’ve been thinking about them all day and… just thank you.” The pictures were old, her parents looking much younger in them, and Misa wondered how L had gotten them, but she’d have to save the questions for later. With Watari’s help, she placed the locket around her neck and just above her heart, where it would stay forever.

“Are you ready for your Christmas present?” L asked after a moment. Misa said she was, but she was worried she’d be crying all night if the gift was just as emotional as the first one. She opened it slowly, but instead of finding another sentimental gift, she found a keychain. The keychain had a cute gothic doll on it, a lip balm, a few cutesy chains, and a car key. Misa immediately noticed the key and held it up in question to Watari who nodded towards the door.

As they walked outside and down the street a bit, Misa spotted it. A brand new red Mercedes Benz. She was too shocked to say anything and accidentally dropped her new keychain to the ground. She quickly apologized and picked it back up, struggling to get her thoughts together to form words.

“You-you- a car? You b-bought me a c-car?” She finally stuttered out.

“Yes, well, you had said before that you’ve been going to Tokyo more often and you hate taking the train, so I thought I’d get you a car.” L answered, sounding a little shy.

“It’s so expensive! Is this really okay?” Misa knew L had to be paid well as the world’s greatest detective, but could he really just go off and spend so much money on her?

“I do pretty well, and I’d like to spend my money on you, if that’s okay.”

“I-I… I guess. If you think it’s okay… Thank you, L, really. You didn’t have to do all this.”

“I wanted to make sure you had a good birthday, and I wanted to make up for the fact that I couldn’t be there.” He said, hesitating before mentioning the second part. She wondered when L had started talking with more emotion or maybe she had just gotten better at reading him.

The reminder that he couldn’t be there stung, but Misa didn’t want to ruin the moment. “The presents are amazing. Thank you so much, L. I hope we can see each other again soon so I can show you just how grateful I am.”

“I’ll call you again when I can. Have a good rest of your birthday.”

Misa quickly picked up on the deflection, but thought it better not to mention it. “Thank you, L. Have a goodnight.”

“Goodbye, Misa.”

When L hung up, Misa stared down longingly at the phone. She hated how everything in their relationship was on his terms, but she didn’t want to say something like that over the phone. She’d rather have that discussion face to face. She also didn’t want to ruin the precious few moments they did get to have together.

As she thought about all this, Watari approached her with an empathetic look. “I know the distance is hard on you… He has trouble letting people in sometimes, but I believe you’ve made a place in his heart, even if he isn’t ready to admit that yet.”

Misa gave a sad smile, she was happy to know Watari supported her, but she wondered if L would always be pushing her away like this. But before she could get too lost in thought again, the older man added, “I’d like to give you a birthday present as well, but you have to promise to destroy it afterwards.”

Misa looked up at him confused, but nevertheless agreed. Watari then dug into his pocket and pulled out a slip of paper that he placed into her hand. He smiled and then began walking towards his own car, “I’ll have everything set up for you. I hope you enjoy the rest of your evening.”

Once he had left, Misa checked the slip of paper to find an address on it. Once she realized what Watari was doing for her, she ran back inside to change into a nicer outfit. She slipped into a simple black dress and some strappy black heels, keeping her white stockings on. She took her pigtails out and brushed her hair down so it fell simply around her shoulders. She knew L liked her hair both ways, but she wanted to look more mature tonight.

Before she headed out, she found her sister so she could partially explain why she was abandoning her, but Mako already had the right idea.

“Ooh, must be a hot date.” Her sister teased.

“I’m sorry to run out like this-”

“No, no. Go have fun! It’s your birthday and you should enjoy it!”

Misa gave her sister a big hug and then ran out the door, ready to drive her new car. Luckily, the address was for a hotel that wasn’t too far away, and Misa knew the directions, so she’d make it there in good time. She wondered what all Watari had set up for them, and butterflies filled her stomach as she took off.

.

When Misa arrived at the hotel, she quickly tore up the slip of paper. She wasn’t sure how serious Watari was about that, but she decided she’d destroy it anyway. She took a few steadying breaths before she parked her car and headed in.

She was able to get around the front desk quite easily without being spotted and then headed up the elevator to the highest floor. When she finally got to the suite, she knocked lightly, playing with her hair as she waited.

When Watari answered the door, she tried not to look disappointed, but when the older gentleman led her inside to a candlelit dinner placed on the dining room table, all that disappointment quickly went away. He pulled her chair out for her and placed a covered plate in front of her and in front of the seat across from her. He then grabbed a bottle of champagne and poured her a glass.

“I’ll be heading out, Miss Amane, but L should enter any moment now.” Watari said when he was done setting up.

“Thank you, Watari, really.” 

“Don’t mention it.” The old man winked, and then he was out the door. He was sort of a mysterious old man, but Misa was glad she had him on her side.

Misa didn’t have to wait long, as she heard footsteps coming down the hall only a moment after Watari left. She started to become shaky with nerves and decided to place her hands in her lap as she waited for his reaction.

“Watari, what-” L froze as soon as he laid his eyes on her. He was dressed in his usual long-sleeved shirt and jeans, and his hair was just as messy as she remembered it, but he still looked beautiful to her.

“Hi, L.” Misa finally breathed. She wasn’t sure if she should stand up to greet him or not, so she stayed fidgeting in her seat.

“Misa… Did Watari bring you here?”

“He gave me the address.” She answered hesitantly, not wanting to sell Watari out, but also not wanting to lie.

“Right.” L sighed. He looked deep in thought, holding his head in his hand, and suddenly all the nerves left Misa. A new emotion filled her instead.

“Well you don’t have to look so put out by it.”

“I’m not. I’m not, it’s just- Well, you shouldn’t be here.”

“And why is that?” She asked, finally standing up from the table.

“You know why. It’s dangerous for you to-”

“But it’s not dangerous for you to call me whenever it pleases you? It’s not dangerous for you to send Watari to my house with presents? It’s not dangerous for you to put Raye on the Kira case?” She interrupted. The last one was just a guess, but by the look on his face it seemed she was correct after all.

“That’s different.”

“How is it different?” She stepped closer to him now, slowly approaching.

“We agreed on the calls-”

“YOU agreed on the calls. You decided that. You’ve made all the decisions, L. I haven’t made any.” She corrected.

“That’s for your protection.” He said, looking more like he was trying to convince himself than her.

“Is it? Or is it for yours?” She countered.

L didn’t answer, instead he walked to the other side of the room, away from her. He was pacing a bit; he was trying to think of what to say next.

“L, listen. I like you. I like you a lot. But it’s not fair to me that you’ve set the pace in this-this- well, whatever this is. I’m a part of this too. I want this to work, but I need you to let me in.” Misa walked over to him again and he paused in his pacing. She reached up to caress his cheek and he stared back at her with wide eyes. “You can’t push me away forever. There’s something here, I know you feel it too.”

“I-I… I don’t-” He sighed again and closed his eyes. “It scares me.”

“It scares me a little bit, too.” She admitted, still caressing his face.

“I still don’t want you involved in the case.” L said, eyes still closed.

“I don’t have to be. But we can still see each other, secretly.” She stepped in closer. “And you should give me a way to contact you too.”

“I can… give you one of Watari’s numbers.” He relented.

“That’s a start. I’ll take it.” Misa smiled, and then pulled him down to her for a kiss. His arms encircled her, and he pulled her into him further. When she started to become breathless from the kissing, she slowly pushed him back, a small smile on her face. “We should probably eat what Watari prepared for us so it doesn’t go to waste.”

“I suppose.” L said, begrudgingly letting her go so they could make their way over to the table.

“You do look beautiful, by the way.” L said as he took his seat. She smiled at that, wanting to return the compliment, but sometimes men were weird about that. Would L like it if she called him beautiful?

She turned her attention to the table instead, and when they uncovered their plates, they found sushi and rice for Misa and a strawberry cake for L. Misa’s not sure why she would have thought L might eat real food on a date, but she loved how he was always himself. Then it occurred to her: this was a date. It was their first real date, and she still knew so little about him.

“It was nice of Watari to do this for us.” She commented. “I don’t actually know; does he just work for you or is he family? He seems like family.”

“Yes, well, we’re not biologically related, but he took me in when I was young.” L answered. Misa was surprised he actually answered her, but she wanted to know more.

“When you were young?” Misa questioned, hoping for an elaboration.

“He found me when I was eight and took me to an orphanage. He adopted me not long after and well, here we are now.” L was casual as he answered her, but her heart stung at the word orphanage. That meant he lost his parents too. She decided not to pick at that just yet, not until he was ready to tell her more.

“So you’ve been working on cases together all this time? That sounds nice. I can’t really imagine working with my sister, but solving cases together could be fun.”

“I’m glad to have him.”

“He cares an awful lot about you.” For some reason, Misa wanted to make sure he knew that. He had no one else, but Watari was always looking out for him. Always.

“Yes. He likes you too.” L said with a small smile.

Misa blushed as she went back to her meal. She wondered if Watari often talked her up to L, or if he did other things to encourage the relationship. He seemed very supportive of them, so it wouldn’t really surprise her if he did.

As Misa dug into her meal, she realized Watari was quite a wonderful cook and it got Misa wondering how much of the work he did around the place for L. Was he always the one cooking and cleaning?

Yes.

Did L know how to cook?

Not really.

Would L try cooking for her?

If she wanted to risk food poisoning.

It was pleasant, asking all these simple questions and learning just a little bit more about L’s life. He seemed to know everything about her, so it was nice to get to know him for a change.

“Did you… really like your presents? It wasn’t too much?” L suddenly asked.

“Oh! Yes! I mean, it wasn’t too much. Well, maybe the car was, but I still love it. The locket too, it’s wonderful.” Misa said as she grabbed onto it. She really did love both the gifts, it showed just how well L knew her.

“I’m glad. I was worried that the locket might have stirred up too many emotions, but I also thought you might like something of your parents to keep close to you.” L said as he played with his cake.

“You were right, I love that I can look at them whenever I want to now. By the way, where did you get these pictures from?” She suddenly remembered, after all, she had never seen the pictures before herself.

“Your mother actually gave me that photo of the two of them sometime after I met her. It was to show she had complete trust in me. She told me it was taken after a case they solved together.” L replied.

“The museum robbery! She’s told me that story before, and now I- Thank you, L!” Misa said excitedly. She was still holding onto the locket and opened it again to stare at their pictures. A mixture of happiness and sadness washed over her, and she found herself drowning in it once again.

“Misa, you’re crying.” L said with a frown. He put down his fork and lowered his legs, looking like he was about to walk over to her side of the table.

“No, no, it’s okay.” Misa said holding her arms up to wave him down. Her mind was a little all over the place though because she then decided what she really wanted was to hug him. She got up from her side of the table and placed herself in his lap, which he allowed with no resistance. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and he wrapped his around her waist as she gently cried into her shoulder.

“It really is- It really is such a great present. I love it- I love it so much. I’m not- I’m not crying because of- of the present. I just- miss- them- so- much.” She said in between sobs.

L rubbed small circles into her back and gave her an empathetic look as he said, “I thought today might be really hard for you. I wanted to be there.”

“You’re- here- now.”

“Yes.” He said, hugging her tighter. “I’m here.”

Misa had wanted to be all romantic tonight. She wanted them to drink champagne and confess their feelings and spend the night cuddled up and kissing. She even thought she might be ready to do more than that, but now she found herself exhausted from all the crying and she just wanted to stay curled up in L’s arms forever. He didn’t seem to mind, and she loved how there was never any pressure from him.

“Can I sleep here?” She asked quietly.

“If that’s what you want.” L whispered back, kissing the side of her head. She nodded, clinging to him like a child, and he continued to rub her back. She had never felt more safe than in that moment.

.

Misa awoke the next morning alone in a hotel bed. She didn’t remember going to bed, so L must have carried her. When she got out from underneath the covers, she noticed he had taken her shoes off for her. As she walked over to the bathroom, she saw he had also bought her a toothbrush, toothpaste, a brush, and even shampoo and conditioner for her to use. It was nice to not have to use the hotel provided toiletries.

After brushing her teeth and taking a nice, hot shower, Misa put her dress back on, but kept the stockings off. She kept her hair down as well and left it to dry on its own. She then wondered what her sister would say when she walked back in wearing the same outfit she was the day before, but decided not to think about that for now. Mako already thought she had a secret boyfriend and hadn’t tried too hard to press for details before, maybe Misa could still keep it all secret now.

As Misa walked back out to the main room, she noticed L sitting with his laptop and a coffee in the living room space. As she got closer, she noticed he was looking up information on Shinigami. She wasn’t sure why L was looking up supernatural beings, but she decided if he wasn’t hard at work, it was okay to distract him.

She carefully placed her hands over his eyes and whispered, “Guess who?”

“The greatest distraction to my work that I’ve ever encountered.” L deadpanned.

“Oh please, you’re just looking up Gods of death, you can do that later!” She giggled as she sat down beside him on the couch. “Now it’s time to play with Misa before she has to go home!”

L looked slightly amused and decided to close his laptop. “And how should I play with Misa?”

She blushed at the way he said it, with those dark, intense eyes so focused on her, but she didn’t let her confidence fail her now. “Kiss me.”

L leaned in and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips before pulling back to observe her once again. “Kiss me, here.” Misa said as she pointed to her neck. L obeyed once again, sucking on the skin just a little bit longer.

“Here.” She said, pointing to the sweet spot behind her ear. As L sucked the skin there, she moaned gently, digging her nails into his biceps slightly.

“Lips.” She said and they began kissing with more passion this time. Misa nipped at his lips and L sucked harshly at hers. At some point, she had fallen backward onto the couch and he was hovering over her, all the while their lips remained attached.

When she finally pulled away, she pointed down to her breasts and whispered, “Here.” L smirked at her before trailing kisses down her neck and slowly pushing her dress and bra down to nip at the tops of her breasts. Misa moaned again, “More.”

L moved her dress down to her stomach and after a couple of attempts, successfully removed her bra. He then took one nipple into his mouth as his hand played with the other. Apparently, Misa’s nipples were quite sensitive, because she started moaning more and pressing herself into his mouth and hand more firmly. L pulled away for a moment, but only to give her other nipple the same treatment with his mouth before kissing down her stomach.

L looked up at her as he pulled at her dress and she nodded her consent. She lifted her legs up so he could remove it from her entirely and then he was stroking her through her panties. “Here?” he asked.

“Y-yes.” He pulled off her panties, but didn’t make another move just yet.

“Get up for a moment.” He instructed. Misa was confused, but she did what he said. As she got up, L laid back on the couch and pulled her to him. It took her a moment to realize what he was trying to get her to do, and suddenly she felt very nervous.

“Are-are you sure?” Misa asked hesitantly.

“Yes, I want to. If you’re okay with it.” He seemed to want it even more than she did. She was nervous, but she trusted L completely, so she climbed back over him, and he guided her to his face.

He hooked his arms under her thighs and slowly pulled her down to him. He licked up her slit slowly, then trailed his tongue along the hood of her clit. He then gave it one long suck and she bucked against him, moaning his name. He chuckled a bit and then trailed his tongue along her folds again before entering her with his tongue.

At first Misa didn’t move too much, afraid of suffocating him, but as L guided her, she began to buck against him and grind her clit against his nose. His tongue was thrusting in and out of her and soon she found herself lost to the sensations. She stopped thinking so much and just let herself ride his face, enjoying the feeling of his tongue sliding all along her parts.

L grabbed her and pulled her impossibly closer down to him, thrusting his tongue at a faster rate and encouraging her to buck against him more. She did as directed and pretty soon she started to realize she wasn’t the only one enjoying this as she began to hear the tell-tale sign of skin slapping against skin like she often heard in porn. She glanced behind her to confirm it, and sure enough, L was jerking off to eating her out.

She felt him moan against her and the vibration made her grind down on his face harder. It felt incredible and overwhelming, and pretty soon Misa found herself bending over him and holding herself up with her arms as he continued to desperately pull her down to him and eat her out earnestly. His tongue was sliding everywhere again and made its way back up to her clit.

He sucked harshly at her clit and as she moaned out, she felt him moan around her as well, the vibration bringing her closer and closer to the edge. She could hear the skin slapping faster behind her and she moved up his face to get his tongue to penetrate her again. As he thrust his tongue into her, she fell over completely, her lower body desperately humping his face as she gasped out and moaned.

L was holding her to him tightly and she found herself finally falling over that edge and crying out his name as she ground herself against his face. When she could collect herself once again, she pulled off of him, only to find L a panting mess desperately stroking his cock that was leaking precum.

“S-sorry Misa, I’m just too-”

Misa placed her hand on his and asked suddenly, “Can I do it?”

He stared at her with wide eyes before he nodded helplessly, removing his hand so she could follow his earlier movements. She held him tightly and slowly jerked up and down as he had before. L’s head fell to her shoulder and he groaned against her as he guided her with his hand to jerk him off faster.

Misa then realized their state of dress, her completely naked and L with all his clothes still on, but his cock pulled out of his pants. She decided to rectify the situation, temporarily removing her hand from L’s dick to pull his shirt up, with L moaning at the loss. He lifted his arms up so she could remove his shirt completely and then she was pushing his jeans and underwear to the floor.

A sudden inspiration hit her as she kneeled before him, and she reached out to lick the tip of his cock, L whining at the sensation. It tasted salty, but not unpleasant. She wasn’t quite ready to put the whole thing in her mouth though, and she got back up to sit beside him and continue working him with her hands.

She collected the precum at the head and spread it down his dick before gripping him and jerking him off faster than before. L’s head fell back and he moaned loudly as his hips bucked forward into her hand. His hands guided her other hand to massage his balls and she continued to pound his dick. It wasn’t long before he was whimpering and desperately pulling her forward into a kiss to quiet all the noises he was making.

She bit down on his lip and gave him a harsh tug, and then L was thrusting up relentlessly as he came all over her hands and his chest. He moaned against her lips as he came and then pulled away, panting like he’d just run a marathon. Misa hadn’t expected L to be so expressive and noisy, and she knew she’d want to do this to him again any chance she got. No wonder he got so turned on by getting her off.

They laid back against the couch, still collecting themselves before L eventually went off to get a towel to clean themselves up with. Now with the loss of him, she felt cold in her nudeness, and began to feel self-conscious about her appearance. She hadn’t really thought about it in the moment, but once it was over, she found herself reaching for her dress so she could cover up again. This was all new to her, so she had no one to compare L to, but she wondered how she compared to his previous lovers. Were her boobs smaller? Was her vagina weird looking? He had also been with men, so did he find her too skinny? Too short? Did he wish she had a penis?

Was she as fun to touch and play with as the others had been? Did he find her as sexy? Was she any good at sex things or was she just an awkward mess? She found herself needing his praise so she wouldn’t have to worry about it anymore.

When he returned, having cleaned himself up and with a towel for her, she quickly blurted out, “Was I any good?”

He paused for a moment before giving her a smile, possibly the biggest one she had seen grace his face, “Misa, you were incredible.”

“Really?”

“Really.” He assured before leaning down to kiss her once again. “You don’t have to worry about others, I just want you. Besides, I’m the lucky one here.” He murmured against her lips.

Misa blushed profusely, that was probably the most romantic thing L had ever said to her. “I only want you too.”

He kissed her again, but before they could get into it, his phone started going off. He glared at it and let out a sigh. “I’m sorry, Misa, but I have to get back to work.”

“It’s okay, I should get home anyway.” Misa said as she redressed herself. Once she was finally ready to head back out, she gave him a quick kiss.

“I’ll call you.” He promised.

“You better.”

And with that, she was out the door.

.

December 27, 2003

Misa had felt like she was on cloud nine all weekend, and sure enough, when she had come home Mako had recognized it immediately, but all she got from her sister was a knowing smile and a teasing, “I hope you were safe.”

For once, Misa felt secure and stable in her relationship with L. They still needed to have a talk about what they were exactly, but she knew all she wanted was to be with him in any way possible. She would travel the world with him if he asked her to. She could be a part-time model and part-time spy helping him along with his cases. It only made sense to her that whatever future she had would be with him.

She had been so worried about the relationship before, thinking that they’d keep going in the same circles, with him constantly pushing her away and her having to do whatever it took to get his attention. It seemed like that cycle was finally broken now though and they could finally become a real couple.

But sometimes, you worry about the wrong people and focus on the wrong things. While Misa would always enjoy that night they shared, part of her would feel a pang of guilt that she hadn’t brought up one important topic. A small part of her would blame herself for what happened, even though she couldn’t have really known.

She thought her world was perfect, finally going the way she wanted it to, but reality had crushed her like a ton of bricks that Saturday night when Naomi showed up at her door in tears.

“Naomi? What’s happened?” Misa asked, holding her arms out to the older woman.

Naomi fell into them and cried against her shoulder, “Raye is dead… No, Kira killed him.”

And a hollowness filled Misa’s chest similar to when she found her parents’ bodies. She had wanted to comfort Naomi the same way the woman had done for her that night. She wanted to say, “We are going to get through this. We’re gonna find this Kira and bring him to justice.”

But all she could do was hold Naomi loosely as the woman cried over her lost love. All she could do was stop the bile from rising in her throat and try to breathe shakily and remain unsteady on her feet as suddenly the world came crashing down around her and the hatred for one person shone brightly through it all.

 _Kira_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright folks, here we go. Things are about to go DOWN. 
> 
> I'm sorry I killed Raye off :( I tried to find a way around it, but I wasn't sure what all it would do to the story, so I kept it in. The canon divergence will start in the next chapter though. 
> 
> Election day is tomorrow, so if you're in America and haven't voted yet, GO VOTE! 
> 
> Thank you as always for reading! I hope you all had a good Halloween!


	12. We Will Defeat Kira

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somehow I found a way to get lost in you  
> Let me inside  
> Let me get close to you  
> Change your mind  
> I’ll get lost if you want me to  
> Somehow I found a way to get lost in you  
> \- Three Days Grace, “Lost in You”

Chapter 12

December 28, 2003

01:00

_Raye is dead. Kira killed him._

Misa paced around the room thinking of what she should do. After Naomi had cried herself out, Misa had walked her inside and asked Mako to look after her.

“What happened?” Mako questioned, eyes filled with concern.

“Raye… Raye died on a case, I don’t know much else.” Misa lied, not sure how much she should tell her sister about the situation. Misa was starting to understand why L pushed her away all the time, Kira proved to be incredibly dangerous and Misa didn’t want her sister or niece to die.

“Oh God, not Raye. What are we going to do? Should we contact her mother? Do you have her number?” Mako asked.

“No, maybe you could ask her for it when she’s calmed down. Let her sleep in my room for now, and don’t let her leave. I’m worried she might do something dangerous.” Misa had a weird gut instinct that she couldn’t let Naomi leave her house for any reason, and she decided to follow it.

“Yes, I’ll brew some tea and set her up in your room. What are you going to do? Are you going somewhere?”

“I don’t know yet.”

After Mako had taken care of Naomi and put her baby to bed, she stayed in the living room, watching Misa pace around. Misa really didn’t know what to do exactly. Should she go to L? Would he still be at that hotel? Or would he have changed locations by now? He had forgotten to give her Watari’s number the other night, so she didn’t have a way of contacting him. What was he thinking right now? How much did he know about Raye’s death? Did she need to tell him about the bus jacking? Why didn’t she mention it the other night?

“Are you okay?” Her sister’s voice cut into her thoughts.

“No. I-I don’t know what to do. I-I need to fix this, but I don’t know how. How do I make this better?” Misa was starting to tear up as she rambled on. _Raye is dead. Kira killed him._

“Oh, Misa-Misa. The best thing we can do is be there for Naomi. It’s late now, we can call her mother in the morning.” Mako made her way over to her sister and placed her hands on her shoulders. “Right now you to need let yourself grieve. Raye was our friend, you’re allowed to miss him. This isn’t your fault, you know.”

“What if it is?”

“It’s not. Trust me. A big sister always knows.” Mako brought Misa in for a hug and let her cry herself out. Mako really had become a good mother in the last two months. She knew exactly what to do and how to be there for everyone else. Maybe L needed someone to be there for him right now too.

When Misa was finished crying, she slowly pulled away and said to her sister, “Thank you, Mako-chan. Please continue to look after Naomi tonight. I’m going to go find someone who I think can help. I’ll text you later when I’ll be back.”

“Okay, Misa-Misa. I’ll be here.” Her sister agreed before giving Misa another hug.

After Misa took another steadying breath, she headed for the door, hoping that L hadn’t changed his location just yet.

.

How had so much gone wrong in just 24 hours? L shouldn’t have focused so much of his attention on the inmates and should have been paying attention to the FBI agents all along. Now Raye was dead, as well as eleven other agents, the FBI would no longer work with him, and the NPA knew he had been probing them. The world’s faith in L had been shaken and now he couldn’t be sure the NPA would still work with him.

L’s faith in himself had also been shaken. He had never lost this badly before, but he couldn’t give up hope. There had to be a clue, just one clue that could get him closer to finding Kira. According to the files the FBI director sent over, the first four to receive the files on all the other agents in Japan were Haley Belle, Raye Penber, Lian Zapack, and Arire Weekwood. If L’s deduction was correct, Kira must have come into contact with one of those four agents.

Kira was childish and hated losing, but L was also childish and hated losing. He couldn’t let this loss break him. He couldn’t let himself get caught up in how Naomi would feel about him after he let this happen. Or even worse, what if Misa…

“Master L, you have a visitor.” Watari suddenly called into the room. L’s entire body froze as he recognized the delicate footsteps of the woman who had just been on his mind.

“Thank you, Watari. Could you leave us alone for a moment?” She said softly.

“Of course, I’ll be making tea in the kitchen if anyone needs me.” Watari answered before bowing and exiting the room.

L did not turn to face her, not ready to know what expression she held. She didn’t walk any closer either, leaving this space between them that felt suffocating. He needed to say something, but his mouth felt numb and for once his brain failed to come up with anything.

She broke the silence for him. “I-I know it’s not polite to just show up out of the blue, but I had some important information to tell you, about the case that is.” What could she know that he didn’t? He almost turned to her then, but still he waited.

“It’s uh- It’s just you’re so much smarter than me and I don’t know if you know this, so I thought I should come and tell you and you could do something with it. I also- I also didn’t think you should be alone right now.”

His heart fluttered at those last words and he had to collect himself before he finally faced her. Instead of anger or judgment, all he found was worry in those brown eyes. She was worried about him. “Thank you, Misa. What is it you’ve come to tell me?”

“Well you see, before I saw you on my birthday, Naomi called me a couple days before. Raye had experienced a bus jacking on the 20th while he was tracking down a suspect, and well, now that I know that the suspect was for the Kira case, I think that that was Kira. Naomi said something like Raye cooperated with the guy, and then after, the bus jacker suddenly freaked out and was hit by a car or something.” Misa paused, her eyes a little teary eyed as she relayed the details of her story. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before, I hope you’re not mad at me.”

“Mad at you?” He repeated. She really thought he would blame her for what happened? “Misa, you didn’t know what it meant then, it’s not your fault.”

She nodded, but the tears started to slip down her face anyway. “I just wish- I just wish I had told you sooner and then maybe… Naomi was at my door crying and it was awful and I just stood there and-”

L didn’t realize what he was doing until he had already crossed the room and brought her into his arms. “Shh, it’s okay. If anyone’s to blame, it’s me. I should have paid closer attention to the FBI agents’ movements.”

“I don’t blame you at all,” She said softly, before her tone darkened, “I blame Kira.”

L blamed Kira too, but he couldn’t help but blame himself as well. He might have seriously jeopardized the investigation by letting Kira win this battle. If he lost his access to the police, that would be a lot of resources lost, and he wasn’t sure any of them would still trust him come Monday morning. It seemed there was only one move he could use to restore their faith, but in doing so he was taking the biggest risk of his career.

He must have looked too deep in thought or made some movement to tip her off because Misa glanced up at him and questioned, “What is it? What are you thinking about?”

“It isn’t something for you to worry about.” He said as he let her go. He made his way over to the couch and sat in usual position and she shook her head and followed him.

“Please don’t do that, please don’t keep me in the dark.” She sat beside him and grabbed his hand, forcing him to look at her. “I would do anything for you. Anything. So please, can’t you trust me?”

“I do trust you, Misa. More than most.” He admitted. “But I don’t want to burden you.”

“You won’t. I want to help you anyway I can, just tell me what’s happening, please. You don’t have to do this all on your own.” Misa begged.

When he hesitated, she continued on, “Or don’t, that’s okay too. If you want me to leave and stop annoying you, I’ll do that. Whatever you need. But please tell Watari if you don’t tell me.”

“I… I don’t want you to leave.”

“I don’t want to go.”

L gave in and kissed her softly on the lips, which she quickly returned. As he pulled back, he rested his forehead against hers. “I don’t deserve you. I don’t understand why you’re willing to do so much for me.”

“Because I love you.” And she said it so simply, like it was the easiest thing in the world. It was just a fact, like how the sky was blue. L’s eyes widened at this admission and he froze up as fear, happiness, confusion, and warmth all rushed over him at once. 

“You don’t have to say it back,” Misa began as she took in his expression, “It’s okay, really. I just wanted you to know. I love you more than anything and I’ll always be here, loving you, even if you don’t love me back.”

L pulled her into another kiss, wanting so badly to be closer to her and live in this moment forever, but also not wanting to hear her go on about her devotion to him any longer. His feelings were at war in his heart, no one else ever made him feel so many things at once. He wanted to shut it all out and just focus on the physical sensations of being with her now in this moment, but his thoughts were too loud. He needed some sleep.

“There’s a lot to discuss, and it would probably be best to wait until Naomi was here. Do you think she would be willing to come here tomorrow?” He asked as he pulled away from her.

“Of course, all Naomi wants is to catch Kira now. I’m sure she can help!” Misa answered confidently.

“She’s at your house, yes? I’ll send Watari by later to retrieve her. For now, we should get some rest.”

L made a move to stand, but Misa caught his hand and blushed, “Can- can I sleep with you?”

“Oh?”

“In-in-in the same b-bed that is! Th-th-that’s all I meant!” She squeaked out.

A small smile touched his lips. “Okay.”

.

07:00

Misa awoke to the warmth of someone else’s arm draped around her and it took her a minute to realize she wasn’t home in her own bed. She was in a random hotel in Osaka sleeping next to the love of her life, who was still fast asleep beside her. She slowly got up, trying not to wake the man, before going over to the bathroom and brushing her teeth with what he had bought her the last time she was here. After brushing her hair as well, she returned to the bed and crawled under the covers once again. It was so warm and nice. As she continued to laze about, she examined his sleeping face, watching how the morning light fell onto it.

“You know,” he began, his morning voice sounding even deeper than his regular monotone, “Some would consider it kind of creepy to be watched in their sleep.”

Misa blushed at having been caught and shut her eyes as she turned her head. “S-sorry, I didn’t mean to- It’s just you looked really peaceful and beautiful… Sorry.”

L’s eyes widened. “You think I’m beautiful?”

Misa looked back at him, still blushing, and took in his shocked expression. He looked almost as shocked as he did last night when she said she loved him. Has nobody ever told him these things before? “Yes, I think you’re very beautiful.”

L smiled at her as he wrapped his arms around her and whispered in her ear, “Misa is the most beautiful.”

As he held onto her and pulled her further into him, her body pressed into his and she felt a hardness against her thigh. She blushed, wondering if it was just a morning thing that happened to guys sometimes or if it was caused by her. She remembered how vocal and expressive he had been the last time she touched him, and she wanted to see that again. She pressed her body a bit more firmly into his and moved her thigh just slightly so his hardness fell between her legs.

“Misa,” he groaned. She looked up to see his dark eyes staring back at her, looking like he was holding himself back from something.

“Can I touch it?” She whispered.

L groaned again and closed his eyes, “I was just hugging you; I wasn’t trying to make you do anything.”

“I know, but I want to touch it. Is that okay?” Her hands fell down to his lower stomach and she slipped them inside his shirt to stroke the skin just below his belly button and on his sides.

L let out a long moan, eyes still closed, and he nodded helplessly. Were those his erogenous zones? Misa smirked and let her hands trail down the same path, causing L to moan and whimper. “Don’t tease me,” he whined.

“Tease you? Me? Never.” Misa said as she once again stroked his stomach and sides, making L shake with want as noises continued to escape him.

“You are a cruel woman.” He sighed as she continued to torture him. He inched closer towards her, tracing the lines of her face with his nose before he captured her lips in a soft kiss. “Have mercy.”

“Only for you.” Misa replied as she kissed him back and finally let her hand slip down into his boxers. L moaned into her mouth at the first touch to his penis and she slowly wrapped her hand around him, jerking him off at an unhurried pace.

“This doesn’t seem like mercy.” L whined as she continued to take her time with him. He bucked his hips just a bit, wanting to encourage her to go faster, but she kept up the same speed as she touched him.

“Relax and enjoy it,” She giggled. L groaned and writhed around, desperately wanting more, but she wouldn’t give it to him. Misa liked watching him in his apparent struggle, feeling a bit evil and also enjoying being in charge.

She squeezed him a bit tighter and then let her other hand join in to stroke his balls. L whimpered at the attention and pulled her into another kiss to cover his sounds. “C-can I t-touch you?” He mumbled against her lips.

“Not yet.” She said and L groaned, looking especially frustrated. She liked seeing him like this, but decided she should be a bit kind to the needy man, and finally increased her speed as she pumped his cock. She kissed him a bit more aggressively, sucking harshly at his lips, as she jerked him off and his hips desperately followed her movement.

She felt the man start to tremble and realized he was going to cum soon. She decided to try something new out and slid down his body until she was facing his penis. She hadn’t paid much attention the last time, a little too lost in the moment, but he really was very big. She was certain she couldn’t fit the whole thing in her mouth, but she could take in the tip. She swallowed down her nerves and then fit the head into her mouth as she continued to pump the rest of his cock with her hand. The flat of her tongue trailed his slit and she sucked greedily as she heard the man cry out above her.

“Misa!” He gasped. “Mmmmmisa I’m gonna cum. I’m gonna-” He moaned out loudly and hips bucked forward slightly, pushing his penis just a bit further into her mouth as he came, and she swallowed it all down. He was gasping for breath when it was over and she slowly pulled away, wiping her mouth of any saliva. It had tasted salty, but Misa found she surprisingly liked the taste. When she had read about it the other day after their encounter, it seemed like most people hated it, but Misa had enjoyed it and wanted to do it again.

As L calmed down, he whimpered out, “Can I touch you now?”

Misa then realized just how wet she was from working him up and agreed readily. L kissed her once again as his hand entered her panties and he was able to fit two fingers inside her immediately.

“So wet.” He moaned and sucked on her tongue as he started stroking his fingers inside her and his thumb circled her clit. She jerked her hips forward, grinding down onto his hand, and whimpered out, wanting more.

“Mmmore.” She begged and he obliged, fitting a third finger inside her. He stroked the upper wall of her vagina and she continued to grind into his hand, still wanting more. It felt like she was still empty and needed to fit something bigger inside her. She realized she wanted to fuck him, but she worried that would be moving too quickly, especially when she hadn’t done any of this stuff before.

She had always thought she would wait until marriage, but ever since she met L, she found she wanted to explore her sexuality quickly and thoroughly. She was so weirdly attracted to him and she thought about him and the things they could do with each other often. She felt like a stupid, hormonal teenager. What would L think if she asked to have sex with him? Would he think she was a slut? That she was too easy? They hadn’t even defined their relationship and here she was ready to beg for his cock.

Then again, L was more experienced than her at this sort of thing. Maybe he could help her through all her feelings and let her experiment. He was attracted to her and cared about her, maybe he would be more understanding about it. Maybe he would even let her make love to him, even if he didn’t feel the same way. She wanted to know what it was like and hoped he wouldn’t turn her away if she asked.

But that was something to explore at a later time. For now, Misa just closed her eyes and pretended it was L’s cock fucking her and not just his hand. She bore down on his fingers as he thrust them inside of her and sucked on that spot behind her ear. Finally, finally, she was climaxing and whimpering his name as she fell over the edge.

When she came down, he was staring at her with an intense expression and said, “Misa.” But instead of continuing whatever train of thought he had, all he did was kiss her again until he left her breathless.

.

09:00

After they took their individual showers, Misa had opted to steal one of his shirts and fashion it into a dress with a belt rather than have to do the walk of shame again. L smiled when he saw her wearing it and told her she was very cute, making her blush as she sipped on her morning tea.

“You’re never getting this back.”

“I already deduced that.” 

Eventually, Watari re-entered the suite with Naomi trailing behind him and the atmosphere changed immediately. Misa still felt a huge wave of guilt as she looked at her friend and could tell L felt the same way even if he hid it better than she did.

“Naomi-” Are you okay, she almost asked. Of course she wasn’t okay, what a stupid question. Misa knew she shouldn’t be acting any different because that’s exactly what she hated when others found out her parents died, but she couldn’t help it. It was an automatic response. She wanted to say, “I’m sorry,” even though she knew it wasn’t helpful. She wanted to give Naomi a big hug, but the woman probably needed her space. It made Misa feel incredibly stupid and helpless.

“It’s okay, Misa. Let’s just talk about the case, if that’s alright.” Naomi said as she sat down in the living room.

Misa and L joined her, sitting in different chairs as if part of some telepathic agreement not to tip anyone off about their relationship.

“Misora, can you tell me exactly what you know about what happened on December 20th?” L asked.

“Yes. Raye was following one of the suspects for the Kira case and got onto a bus with them. Eventually, a bus jacker entered the bus, a criminal who had robbed a bank just a few days prior. The bus jacker freaked out and ran into the street afterwards, only to be hit by a car and die. In the chaos, Raye showed his ID to the suspect because he believed he was innocent and wanted to convince the person not to stop the bus jacker. Now Raye and the other eleven agents are dead. That can’t just be a coincidence.” 

“No, it doesn’t sound like one.” L agreed.

“There’s something else,” Naomi continued, “This morning, I was reading through the news and on the exact same day as the bus jacking, another criminal tried to rob a convenience store and was stabbed to death. After the bus jacking, and right before Raye died, another twenty-something criminals, including petty criminals, all died from heart attacks. However, there has yet to be news of any deaths today, and if I’m correct, there won’t be as many deaths or as many petty criminals dying after this once Kira knows for sure his plan worked.”

“What does that all mean?” Misa asked, unable to piece it all together. 

“Kira can control people’s actions before they die.” L and Naomi stated at the same time.

“Yes, I already deduced this. There were a number of inmates who died just before this, each one leaving behind notes that formed a message from Kira. However, Kira’s real intention with this was to keep me distracted while he took out the agents.” L said.

“That makes sense. He didn’t want you watching too closely, but he gave away a big clue about the extent of his power in doing so.” Naomi replied.

“Well what did the message say?” Misa questioned, this seemed like an important detail to cover, at least in her eyes.

“All it said was, ‘L, do you know Gods of Death love apples?’ It was nonsense.”

“Was it? Could it be that Gods of Death are how he gets his power?” Misa wondered aloud. She has wondered how Kira was able to make people drop dead all around the world, could it be a supernatural power?

“I won’t rule that possibility out, but I don’t know how we could prove that. No one has ever seen a Shinigami.” L answered.

“Wait, but there’s another thing!” Naomi interjected. “Kira can kill people through other means besides a heart attack. That’s how the two criminals died that day of the bus jacking, they were used to get to Raye and then Raye was used to get the names of the other agents.”

“Oh my God,” Misa gasped. Kira can control people before they die and kill them by any means he wanted? How could one person have so much power? How were they ever going to beat him?

“I see.” L got up from his chair and paced around the room. How Misa wished she could know everything he was thinking and be able to understand it all. What was he piecing together now? Did he already have a plan for their next steps?

As L continued to pace around, Watari entered the room. “Master L, I’ve brought what you asked.” He was holding a briefcase and Misa inched just a bit closer wanting to know what kind of secrets it contained.

“Right, could you please hand them out?” L asked as he finished his pacing.

Watari opened the briefcase to reveal two belts and two new IDs. The ID with Naomi’s picture on it said ‘Shoko Maki’ and the one for Misa had ‘Misaki Arakaki’ written on it.

“Please use these IDs from now on. It will be easy for Misora to use this as no one knows her real name, but for you Misa, we will have to convince people that Misa Amane is a stage name.” L explained.

Naomi nodded and accepted her ID as Misa looked over the belts, “And what are those for?”

“There is a transmitter embedded inside the buckle that will alert L to your location at all times and if you press the buckle with force twice, my phone will ring.” Watari explained as he handed it over to her.

“Super cool! It’s like I’m a superhero!” Misa exclaimed as she took off her old belt and replaced it with the new one.

L tried to hide a smirk as he looked over at her, but failed as he caught her eye. He then quickly cleared his throat. “There’s more we need to discuss. Let’s all be seated again, shall we?”

Once everyone was sitting around the coffee table again, L began, “The FBI have cut all ties with me. They cannot risk losing anyone else and will no longer be pursuing Kira. They have also informed the NPA that I was the one who sent the agents to investigate them and their families. I believe by Monday morning, much of the Kira task force will have quit or will refuse to continue working with me.”

“But don’t they want to catch Kira?” Misa asked, unable to understand how people could just give up like that.

“They won’t all risk their lives. However, if anyone remains, those loyal few will be much needed allies to continue working with. I will need to regain their trust, but I think it is manageable.”

“How do you plan on doing that?” Naomi questioned, although she seemed to already have an idea where this was headed.

“I am going to reveal myself as L to them.”

“But what if you die?” Misa blurted out.

“Kira needs both a name and a face to kill, and he will only know my face, not my name. I would not willingly give that over. None of you should, either.”

The others nodded as Misa tried to process this all. If L suspected that Kira was a member of the NPA or a family member of one of the members, didn’t this mean it was only a matter of time before he would run into Kira? That idea scared her more than anything. If Kira could control others, couldn’t he just make one of the members of the NPA hold him at gunpoint and demand his name? Were there any limits to Kira’s power?

“I will be moving to Tokyo today.” L continued. “I plan on meeting the Task Force before the new year and discussing with them my thoughts on the case and what I have learned thus far. The Kira investigation will be moved to the different hotel rooms I take up residence in, which I will switch every few days. Once I have regained the trust of the force and utilized some of their resources to track down the footage of the deaths of the FBI agents, I will present my theory that Kira is one of the suspects Raye was following. I will then ask the task force to bug the residences of the two families Raye investigated. If the footage of Raye’s death does not show enough suspicious behavior, we will do this for all the families.”

Misa couldn’t see anything inherently wrong with the plan, but still she worried. Kira was more powerful than she had imagined and although L had given her a way to contact Watari, in the back of her mind she was afraid he was going to push her away again. Luckily, Naomi questioned things on her behalf.

“What about us? You’ve given us these precautions, so will we be official members of the investigation team?”

“No. I do not want you or Misa coming in contact with the members of the NPA or their families. It’s too risky.” L replied. “However, I will only meet with the members of the task force during normal work hours. At night, Watari will notify you of locations to meet me at.”

“So, we’re like…. Undercover-undercover? Extra undercover?” Misa asked.

“Yes. If you would like to be. I will not ask either of you to join this case and I would rather keep you as far away from it as possible, but it could be helpful for me to share my thoughts with you after meeting with the task force, and I can understand that you would like to help bring Kira to justice.”

“That’s enough for me.” Naomi stood up. “I accept.”

“Me too!” Misa cheered as she rose to her feet as well.

“I have every confidence in this team. We will defeat Kira.” L said with a smile on his face.

.

As Naomi had still been in the room when Misa was getting ready to leave and Misa wanted to be sure to follow the older woman out, she had said a quick goodbye to L with no kisses or other physical affection involved. She was pretty certain that Watari already had an idea of what they were, maybe even better than she did, and being honest with herself, Naomi probably caught on as well, but she didn’t want to flaunt it in front of the former FBI agent when she had just lost her fiancée.

Once they were out of the hotel, Misa offered to give Naomi a ride back to her place in her new car.

“I was thinking,” Misa began as they started driving down the road, “I already work in Tokyo and you might want to be closer to the investigation, so maybe we should get a place together. Like an apartment.”

“Are you sure you want to be away from your sister and niece?” Naomi asked.

“Honestly, I don’t want to risk anything happening to them.” Misa admitted shyly, but Naomi nodded, understanding better than anyone else would.

“Should we tell Mako tonight?” She queried next.

“Yes, I think so. We could find a place pretty quickly and she might even help.”

“Are you going to tell her it’s just to comfort me and be closer to work? I don’t mind if you do.”

“Yeah, I think she would believe that. She already knows I wanted to help you, and since I didn’t come home last night, she’ll probably think I was away planning all this.” Misa explained. Naomi agreed and it was settled. Although a small part of Misa was sad to be moving out of her sister’s place, it seemed like the best idea to keep an eye on Naomi and to keep her family safe.

.

December 31, 2003

As Misa had expected, Mako was very understanding and very willing to help the girls find a new place. They found a fully furnished two-bedroom apartment in the heart of the city pretty easily, and quickly began packing their things over the next couple days. Naomi still had things left over in America, but she had enough stuff to go on for now. Her mother also gave them dishes and cooking wares to take with them.

When the car was fully packed and it was time to say goodbye, Misa found herself crying and holding on tightly to her big sister.

“I’ll call you every week! And I’ll visit as often as possible!” Misa promised as she hugged her sister and kissed her niece on the forehead.

“It’ll be alright, Misa. It’ll be good for you to be closer to work instead of heading back here every weekend just to be with us. We can see each other on holidays too. We’ll visit to see the new place soon.” Her sister said as she rubbed her back.

With that, Misa finally took off, leaving her temporary home of the last seven months. It wasn’t just that though, she was also further away from her parents’ old house. Away from everything she had grown up with. She was going to miss it all so much, but she held onto her locket and told herself that everything would be okay.

“How did you even get such a nice car, anyway?” Naomi questioned once they were on their way, sounding more like her old self.

“Oh uh, it was a birthday present.” Misa answered sheepishly.

“Was Mako suspicious of it at all?”

“She immediately asked why my nice, secret boyfriend couldn’t buy her a car too.”

Naomi laughed at that, “Your nice, secret boyfriend wouldn’t do this sort of thing for anyone but you.”

“Well, he’s not really- I mean I don’t have a boyfriend.” Misa blushed.

“Sure you don’t.” Naomi rolled her eyes and laughed.

L didn’t contact them that night and the two celebrated the new year by themselves in their new apartment with a bottle of champagne. Misa drank more and more as the hours droned on and they still hadn’t been contacted by the detective. She worried that Kira really had been one of the members of the task force and they had killed him, but Naomi assured her they would hear from him the next night.

After nursing her hangover the next day, Misa continued to feel on edge, waiting for the other shoe to drop. It wasn’t until 2:00 that they were finally contacted by Watari and he gave them the address for an old, abandoned warehouse. Naomi kept her gun on her as they entered and looked around, but no one else was there. Just a laptop sitting on a table.

“I thought he might do this. This is how he communicated with me on the BB case too, just over the computer until the very end.” Naomi sighed as she approached the laptop.

Misa wanted to be surprised, but she wasn’t. She knew L wouldn’t actually be here long before they even reached the location. She knew from the last time she saw him. At least he was still going to talk to her, but she couldn’t help but already be annoyed at whatever explanation he had for this.

Once the letter ‘L’ appeared on the screen in its usual font, he immediately began speaking. “For the time being, we should continue to meet like this. Now that the task force knows my face, it would be easier for them to follow my movements. Until I trust them completely and have narrowed down the suspects for Kira, we will stick to this form of communication.”

When Misa didn’t say anything, Naomi encouraged the man instead, “What information do you have to share with us?”

“After investigating each of the remaining five members of the NPA, I am certain that none of them are Kira, but one of them has a son that Raye was investigating. I will continue to be cautious around them until we rule out the son or determine that he is Kira. Watari has given each member a belt like yours and fake IDs as well, so we can ensure the safety of our team. We are keeping up the NPA’s task force building as a front for the investigation so no one knows we are working out of a hotel and one member will stay there every day. Lastly, we will be retrieving the footage of the deaths of each FBI member shortly and I will begin reviewing them as soon as we have received them.”

“Okay, that sounds like a good plan. Is there anything else we should know?” Naomi asked.

“Yes, we will be releasing a fake news bulletin soon claiming that 1,500 investigators are joining the Kira task force in Japan. With this, we will hopefully corner Kira into making another move. He has been suspiciously quiet after his victory.”

“Right. Wait to release it for a few days, I think if we move too fast, he won’t believe it. Maybe another week or two and it would be believable that you gathered that much support. In the meantime, are you going to tell us which people Raye was investigating and who you suspect?”

“Not at this time. I will be in contact with you again after I have reviewed the footage and I’ll discuss with you our next moves. Thank you for your input.” L said and then the screen was blank, giving them no chance to say anything else.

“Your boyfriend’s an asshole.” Naomi huffed.

“I know.” Misa agreed.

.

January 4, 2004

L viewed the tapes of the FBI agents dying and found that Raye had been on a hour long train loop for an hour and a half and that an envelope he was holding at the platform mysteriously disappeared when he was exiting the train. Raye also tried to look back into the train as he laid dying.

It wasn’t much, but it was more suspicious than the other FBI footage, and with the fact that Kira could control people before they died, it was enough to convince his fellow task force members that they should narrow down the investigation to the two families Raye had been investigating. The Yagami and Kitamura households would have cameras and microphones placed in them for a period of one week, with the possibility of extension or early termination depending on the evidence found. It took some time to convince the task force, but with the help of Chief Yagami’s urging, they agreed to it.

When he told Naomi and Misa about it that night, once again Misa remained quiet while Naomi offered to help with the bugging. He assured her it was best for Watari to work alone, but she gave helpful advice on where to hide the bugs and cameras. Misa’s silence irked him, but he was certain she was upset that they weren’t meeting face to face, which couldn’t be helped at the moment. He wasn’t sure when he’d be able to see her again, but for now it was best to keep his distance.

January 8, 2004

The Kitamura and Yagami households were finally bugged. The task force had been split up into four groups, two men would watch the footage of the Kitamura household, one man would man the NPA task force headquarters, one man would continue watching all footage of the train station Raye had been at the day he died, and Chief Yagami and L himself would watch the footage of the Yagami household.

Watari stated that Yagami Light, the Chief’s son, had been keeping track of who entered and left his room with a piece of paper. The teenager also went to great lengths to show himself reading porn magazines to explain why he was keeping track of who went in his room. Lastly, his reaction to the news bulletin had been smart, he saw right through it, just as L suspected Kira would. L did not yet mention this to the others, keeping his suspicions to himself until the right moment.

Misa continued to give him the silent treatment.

January 12, 2004

The Kitamura and Yagami households both showed normal behavior in their day to day lives under surveillance. No one acted suspiciously aside from Yagami Light, which L knew to be the first person Raye investigated and a student who fits the initial profile he designed for Kira. However, the little things he did weren’t enough evidence and L saw no proof of murders occurring. After talking it over with Naomi the night before, he decided to end the surveillance of the two households. It was clear he wouldn’t catch Kira this way.

During their talks, Naomi and him discussed the possibility of Kira simply wishing for deaths to happen being his power. Even if that was how Kira killed, no one in the two households ever showed a change in expression to indicate what they were doing. That meant that Kira already had a God complex and saw no evil in what he was doing. How do you to catch someone with this sort of complex?

Misa finally spoke up at this, “You challenge them directly.”

Yes, she was right. And that’s exactly what he was going to do. 

January 16, 2004

L informed Watari to only give Misa the location for the meeting tonight. There was no need for Naomi to come along because she couldn’t talk him out of his plan, and he was certain Misa would tell her everything after their conversation tonight.

The location was different from usual, it was the upper floor of a mom-and-pop shop that a couple L had worked with before owned. The upper floor was their home and the two allowed L to use it for his date, assuring him that it was as thanks for solving their case and using the same fake name he provided to them all those years ago.

When Misa arrived, she was dressed in her normal Gothic Lolita style she wore for her photoshoots with her hair in its signature pigtails. She was wearing more makeup than usual too, and L suspected she had just gotten off work. It was a Friday after all.

Misa was immediately suspicious as she entered the home, and when she spotted him, she smiled immediately, before pointedly turning it into a frown and sitting down across from him instead of greeting him as she normally would. “I’m still mad at you.”

“I know.”

“You can’t fix everything with a nice date.”

“I know.”

“I still love you though, even if you can be an ass.”

“I… Thank you, Misa.”

She smiled at him then, a big toothy grin, and his heart melted. He missed seeing her smile. God, he missed her. He wanted to reach out and touch her, but this was supposed to be a proper date, and he still had important information to tell her.

As Misa ate her sushi and L ate his ice cream, she told him all about her work. She was going to be on the cover of Eighteen Magazine soon and have a full spread dedicated to her. She was going to do a full interview, and she was thinking of hinting at being a Kira supporter in it.

“I don’t think that is a good idea. You shouldn’t draw Kira’s attention to you.” L replied.

“Why not? I’ve already convinced everyone at my agency that my name is a stage name and that my real name is too ugly to reveal. Also, won’t Kira be happy to see he has a supporter?” She asked.

“That is if he doesn’t suspect you.”

“Well he did kill my parents’ murderer, so it would be believable that I support him!” She argued.

“That would reveal your identity.”

“Oh. Right.” She crossed her arms and sat back in her chair, trying to think of something else. “Well what if I say I support him because some criminal attacked me, and he killed them?”

“Kira would know he didn’t actually do that.”

“Fine.” She huffed.

Seeing her look defeated, L decided to cheer her up and gave her the rest of his ice cream. She looked at him questioningly before eventually accepting. He knew it was her guilty pleasure.

“I have something important to tell you.”

“I figured as much.” She said, already looking a little annoyed. She definitely wasn’t going to like what he had to say next.

“I was able to make a spot for myself in the entrance exams to the same college one of the Kira suspects is applying for. I’m going there tomorrow. And I’m going to follow this suspect directly and tell them I am L.” He decided to tell her all of it at once, like ripping off a band aid.

Misa dropped her spoon and stared at him with wide eyes and gaping mouth. It took her a moment to collect herself. “Why?”

“I want to challenge Kira into action.”

“But what if you die?”

“I won’t.”

Misa pressed her hand to her forehead and sighed heavily. “Okay. Fine. What college is it?”

She was giving in to easily, what was she planning? Oh, he had an idea. “You can’t go there.”

“You can’t stop me.” She challenged.

It was L’s turn to sigh heavily now. “Fine.”

“Fine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Misa finally said the l-word! Yay! And Naomi lives! Double yay! 
> 
> Next time, we will finally get some interaction with Light. 
> 
> I hope you are still enjoying this fic! Thanks as always for reading!


	13. Misa Never Lies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “’You can’t love someone unless you love yourself first.’   
> Bullshit.  
> I have never loved myself.  
> But you  
> Oh god, I loved you so much I forgot what hating myself felt like.”  
> \- constant-nxthing, Tumblr

Chapter 13

March 12, 2004

“Could you please drive a bit faster, Watari?” L asked from the back seat, trying not to sound as on edge as he felt.

“I’m sorry, L. If I drive any faster, I will attract the attention of local law enforcement. We should arrive soon.” Watari replied.

L bit down on his thumb as he tried to will himself to relax. His heart rate had increased and his breathing was almost reaching the point of hyperventilation. 

“Miss Misora said that she made it back home safely. There were no injuries on her person.” Watari stated, trying to soothe L’s worries.

“Yes, yes.” L inhaled for four seconds, held it for four seconds, and then exhaled for four seconds. He needed to calm down.

These last two months L had worked himself like crazy. Following Kira suspects around in the morning and trying to provoke them, working with the task force from the afternoon to early evening, and meeting with Naomi and Misa at night. He had various members of the task force introduce themselves to suspects as L and none of them had the reaction he expected Kira to have, and he was waiting to introduce himself as L to Yagami Light until the entrance ceremony for the younger man’s college.

L had gone to the entrance exams every day and sat behind the teenager. The moment their eyes met, L was certain he’d found his true opponent, but he had to be thorough in ruling out all other suspects. Chief Yagami had been a competent ally thus far, and L didn’t want to cause the man to distrust him by aggressively pursuing his son until it was obvious that he was the only option left of the original list of suspects.

Misa had snuck her way into the college entrance exams as well with a black wig and glasses. While L stood out like a sore thumb, Misa actually fit in pretty well and he didn’t notice her immediately on the first day. She was going by another name too, Kyoko, and made friends with various people after the exams. Luckily, she didn’t know that Light was his main suspect, and never directly approached the teenager. Even more lucky, Light never approached her either, and L didn’t have to worry about her putting herself in danger… as much.

L followed other suspects around as well, and while he followed them, Misa continued to follow him. On more than one occasion he had caught her in various disguises sitting in a nearby coffee shop or pretending to read a newspaper on a bench. Misa had shown him multiple times that she couldn’t be controlled, and she would do whatever she wanted to look after him in her sudden new protective streak. In turn, much of his focus was captured by her instead of the suspects he was following. He never was able to follow anyone for very long, he would get too anxious about the possibility of something happening to Misa and turn back around just to lead her away. He knew that no one had as high a chance of being Kira as Yagami Light, and yet still he found himself irrationally worried.

As the task force got used to his erratic movements, he started meeting Misa and Naomi in person more frequently, and more than once he slept over at their apartment when exhaustion finally caught up to him. He always fell asleep in Misa’s room and woke up to her getting ready for work, or for another day of following him around. Some days he woke up wishing he could drag her back into the bed with him and pretend that the Kira case wasn’t a thing. That he could just stay in bed with his girlfriend all day and let the rest of the world disappear. They were silly wishes that would never come true.

In the past couple of months, Misa had also become more exploratory with him, wanting to try out new things whenever he spent the night. She would roam her hands down his sides to stir him up and then ask if he would let her use a sex toy on him or ask him to use a sex toy on her. They even experimented with food once, but it was very sticky, and Misa didn’t like dealing with the clean up afterwards. She was getting closer and closer to asking him to have penetrative sex with her, but she held off for reasons he didn’t know. Perhaps she thought they were moving too fast? Whatever her reason, he didn’t mind, he would move at her pace. Though he bought a pack of condoms just in case.

She still had her regular work routine of course. She was still a model and she went to her photoshoots and commercials on her regular workdays, only following him on her breaks or when she had the day off. She had a world outside of him, so of course something bad had to happen when he couldn’t see her.

Now, he was restless. By the time he had found out what happened, it was already over and she was safe, but anxiety coursed through him and he would not be settled until he saw her. He left work early that day and immediately rushed to her apartment. He had become completely useless the moment he realized he could’ve lost her.

It dawned on him then, something he had tried to deny and fight back. He hadn’t wanted to admit it because recognizing that it was true, putting the words out there, would prevent him from going back. He would never be able to handle losing her if he admitted it, so he tried to push these feelings away and ignore them. He had tried to push her away so many times, but she kept coming back.

And he found that he could no longer remain in denial.

The truth was that he was completely, hopelessly in love with Amane Misa. 

“L, we’re here.” Watari announced.

L had jumped out the door immediately, running to see her as soon as possible. He couldn’t calm down until he saw her. He needed to see her. He needed to know she was okay. He banged on the door, ready to knock Naomi out of his way if he had to.

He didn’t because she was there. His beautiful girl was right there, standing before him teary eyed, but otherwise unharmed and he rushed in to hold her immediately. Only once she was in his arms returning his hug was he truly able to breathe again.

“I’m okay. It was kinda s-scary, but I didn’t see anyone else around. I p-pressed the b-belt twice, but by that point he was already on the ground d-dead. I didn’t see anyone, I didn’t see-” She stuttered as she held on to him.

“Shh, it’s okay. We can talk about it later. Let’s go inside.” He rubbed soothing circles on her back before pulling away and leading her into her apartment. As she sat down on the couch, he went into the kitchen to brew some tea, and returned with a glass of water in the meantime.

“I really don’t understand how it happened. I don’t think I’ve ever met the man before, but all of a sudden he was saying he loved me. He asked me to marry him and I said no and then he pulled out a knife and told me he’d kill me if I didn’t accept him. I pressed the belt immediately and started backing away, and then he was having a heart attack. I looked around and no one else was in that alley. Was Kira watching me? Did he figure out who I was? I thought my disguises were really good.” She rambled on as he sat next to her, finally pausing to look at him for confirmation.

“Your disguises were good. I think it is unlikely that any of the people we followed deduced that you are Amane Misa. At most, they might have noticed a strange man following them and an even stranger woman following him.” L responded, hoping he might make her laugh.

She exhaled out of her nose, which was close enough, before she continued on. “Do you think Kira was there? I didn’t see anybody. But do you think he was watching?”

He had to give her a real answer or she wouldn’t let this go. “There is a small possibility that Kira is a fan of yours and killed the stalker to save your life. There is also the possibility that your stalker was a petty criminal who may have done this sort of thing before, and so Kira killed him and it just happened to be when he was about to attack you.” The second option wasn’t as likely, but she didn’t need to know that.

“I don’t want a mass murderer to be obsessed with me.” Misa said as her face scrunched up.

Just then, the kettle started whistling, and L went to pour her a cup of chamomile, adding some honey to sweeten the taste. He returned with the mug and sat back down beside her, wrapping an arm around her as he handed her the mug.

“We will look for any footage of the situation tomorrow and see if anyone else witnessed the event. For now, drink your tea and then get some rest. Everything will be okay.” L comforted.

“Thank you for being here. Will you stay with me tonight?” She asked, looking a little fearful of rejection. How could he possibly say no? 

“I’ll stay the night.” He agreed.

As she went into her bedroom to change into her pajamas, he went back out to tell Watari to have the task force look for footage of the event and that he would return to work on his own in the morning. He also wanted to know exactly where Yagami Light was at that time and if the teenager had any magazines or other collectibles to indicate that he was a fan of Misa’s. Watari had given him a small smile, agreeing to his charge’s demands, and telling him to let Misa know he wishes her well before he took off.

When L re-entered the apartment, he ran into Naomi.

“Do you think it was Kira?” She asked immediately.

“I’m not sure. It’s not unlikely.”

“And what will we do if it was?” She interrogated him further.

“I will get Misa a bodyguard. Or I’ll keep her hidden away in a hotel. I’ll change her name.” L rambled off ideas, and then shook his head. “I’m sorry, I’m not thinking very clearly right now. I’ll have a better idea in the morning.”

Naomi nodded. “I understand, I didn’t know what to do after Raye… Just, be there for her and tell her how much she means to you.”

Naomi retreated to her own room and L continued to stand there, wondering how obvious his feelings were to the others. Watari had caught on long ago, Aiber as well, and maybe even Wedy. He needed to get a better handle of himself; when he met with Kira, he didn’t want there to be any chance of his opponent realizing his feelings for the blonde.

He could turn around and call Watari back. He could leave right now and cut all ties with her. It wouldn’t be easy. In fact, it would be the hardest thing he ever had to do, but he could do it. If he didn’t turn back now, there was no going back. He would never be able to leave her and if something else happened and he lost her, it would utterly destroy him.

“L, are you coming?” She asked as she peeked through her door.

And there was no other choice. “Yes, Misa.”

As they climbed into her bed, he wrapped his arm around her and rubbed circles into her arm as she held onto him. She felt so warm against him, so soft. He wanted to hold her forever and never let go. A selfish, stupid part of him wanted to run away with her now and ensure no danger would ever come to her. He wanted to abandon everything just for her, but he couldn’t do that. He was L.

She buried her face in his chest and murmured, “I love you, L,” as she slowly began to drift off to sleep. And his emotions came over him so strongly, he felt like he was drowning in them. He needed to get the words out, but he was afraid, so afraid. He’d never said those words to anyone before and he was worried that admitting this to her would doom him to have his heart broken.

So he said nothing and held her tightly to him instead. 

He could always tell her directly another day.

.

March 13, 2004

When he awoke the next morning, their eyes met first and then they collided. He didn’t know who reached for who first. He didn’t know what time it was or even fully remember where he was. All he knew was that they were suddenly holding each other and kissing like their lives depended on it and nothing else mattered.

Misa fell onto her back and took him with her, their lips still connected as he carefully climbed on top of her and planted a hand down on each side of her face. His fingers dug into the pillow under her as his tongue entered her mouth. She reached up and clung to his back, digging her nails in slightly, as he began to trail kisses down her neck and feverishly suck at her skin.

Soon, she was pulling at his shirt and he quickly removed it before returning to kissing down her neck, pushing her nightgown down to expose more of her soft, creamy skin. He kissed and sucked and left small bruises along her neck and collarbone, desperate to have as much of her as possible. She whimpered underneath him, bucking up against his thigh, needing friction to soothe the ache inside.

He removed her nightgown at last, kissing down her stomach all the way to her panties. When she nodded excitedly, he removed her panties and trailed his tongue along her clit and labia. Her hands found his hair, tugging him down to her, and his lips captured her clit as he gently pushed a finger inside of her. He sucked her softly as he slowly fingered her, causing her to rock up into him and moan.

“Please, L. More.” She whimpered.

He added another finger and quickened his pace just a bit as he continued to suck on her clit. She was bucking up into his hand faster now and pulling at his hair, and it stung, but it also felt so good. He groaned in response and she whimpered at the vibrations. “Please. More. I want- I want more.”

Her breathless little whimpers and moans were getting to him, he’d never been so turned on in his whole life, and he reached one of his hands down to push his boxers aside and began to pump his cock. He added in a third finger, careful in his stretching of her, and moaning around her clit just the way she loved. She rocked into his hand and pulled at his hair some more, so he sucked harshly and let the flat of his tongue press up against her.

“L… I want to- Can we-?” She begged as she bucked up into his hand, cutting herself off with quiet, little moans.

He slowly pulled his head away from her and she moaned at the loss, but he continued to thrust his fingers into her as he questioned, “What do you want, Misa?” He wanted to hear her say it. He wanted to be sure it was exactly what she wanted.

“I want- mmm- I want to have sex.” She moaned. He smiled down at her and kissed her softly on the lips before pulling away again.

“Are you sure? Are you ready?” He asked. He continued stretching her with his fingers, wanting to be extra careful and make sure he didn’t hurt her. She whimpered and continued to buck her hips up at the sensation.

She nodded as she whispered, “Yes, yes, please.”

“How should we do it? If we are in a spooning position, I won’t get as deep and it might be more comfortable for you, but if you are on top you will have more control. What do you want?”

Misa giggled breathlessly as she reached for him, pulling him down into another heated kiss. “You’re so sweet. You think of everything.”

“I just want to make you feel good.” He stared into her eyes with an intensity which he hoped conveyed all the things he couldn’t say out loud. He cared about her, he cared about her so much and he hoped she knew that.

“Let’s try the spooning position.” Misa finally answered, kissing him once more before letting go and letting him position them.

After placing his condom and lube on, L laid down behind her and kissed her shoulder as he lined himself up with her entrance. “Tell me if it hurts.”

He held onto her waist as he slowly pushed inside, burying his face in her hair as the overwhelming sensation of warmth and wetness and tightness overcame him. He had never done this with a woman before and already it felt too incredible to describe in words. He breathed heavily through his nose as he paused, waiting for any sign that he should stop or keep going from Misa.

“It’s- good. You- you can move.” She breathed out. L began to slowly rock back and forth inside her, allowing her to adjust to the feeling. She reached behind her to tangle her fingers in his hair, tugging slightly before turning her head for a kiss.

He captured her lips and kissed her passionately as he continued to lazily thrust inside her, eventually reaching his hand down to lightly massage her clit. She whimpered against him, “Faster,” and he picked up the pace as he continued to kiss her. He rubbed at her clit just a little faster as he thrust in and out of her at the same speed, slowly losing himself to the sensations.

The sound of skin slapping against skin could be heard and everything was so wet down there that he slipped out a few times, but it felt amazing. He could feel Misa trying to match his movements and he moaned against her mouth as she thrust backwards into him. He could tell he wasn’t going to last much longer, but he wanted to please her first.

He trailed his lips down to her neck and sucked harshly as he massaged and pinched at her clit, making her moan loudly and clench down around him, and then he was losing himself inside her. He buried his face in her neck as he whimpered loudly, coming and thrusting and coming and thrusting. It was the most incredible feeling in the world.

When he was finally able to catch his breath again, he asked, “Did you cum too?”

“No,” she admitted, “But it did feel really good.”

He slipped out of her and climbed on top of her again before kissing her. “Do you want me to…”

“No, not right now. It was very intense, ya know? But good intense.” She kissed him again and then trailed her lips down his neck before adding, “It kinda feels like you’re still inside me now.”

“And it feels good?” He asked, needing to be reassured.

“It feels really good.” She smiled. “Will you cuddle me awhile longer?”

L fell back beside her and drew her into his arms. He’d hold her for as long as she wanted.

.

When they finally did get up for real, they took a shower together, kissing each other softly as they carefully washed each other’s bodies. He got dressed in the clothes he wore the day before and she put on a simple t-shirt and jeans, opting for a more casual look. They brushed their teeth together and she tried to attack his hair with a hairbrush, but he resisted. Everything felt so domestic and it felt so right, it scared him.

They entered the living room where Naomi was already waiting with coffee, surely ready to dive into how they would protect Misa from now on. L grabbed a cup before sitting on the couch in his usual position, trying to readjust his thoughts and think of Misa as a client rather than his beautiful girlfriend.

“So, what’s the plan?” Naomi asked, jumping straight to the point.

“I’m having Watari look into whether or not any of the suspects are fans of Misa. The task force should have gathered footage and witness testimony by now, which I will personally attend to.” L placed his thumb at his lip as he thought for a moment. He needed to protect Misa, but if he overdid it, she would rebel against him. “Naomi, you should act as Misa’s bodyguard in the meantime. Please follow her in her day to day tasks.”

“Understood.” The former FBI agent agreed.

“Hey, wait a minute, don’t I get a say in this?” Misa pouted. He knew she’d fight back some, but he figured she was comfortable enough with Naomi not to mind so much.

“You like spending time with Naomi. You’ll just spend more time with her.” L justified.

“Yeah, but what about her living her own life? We don’t even know if it was really Kira. I don’t want to be a burden.”

“Misa, I would feel better if I got to look out for you. You would be doing me a favor by accepting me as your bodyguard.” Naomi cut in. L was thankful that the woman cared so much about Misa. He would have entrusted this task to Watari if he wasn’t busy doing other things, but Naomi was a good backup, she had enough of L’s trust to where he wouldn’t worry as much.

“I mean, I guess, if you say so Naomi, but I really don’t want it to be such a big deal.” Misa shyly tucked her hair behind her ear. Maybe putting too much protection would only serve to make her more anxious. He just wouldn’t tell her about any other protective measures he took.

“I’ll be back tonight to report what I learn from the task force.” L said as he slowly stood up. When Misa reached up for him, he bent down and kissed her softly on the lips, making her blush and forget whatever it was she was about to say. The sudden display of affection in front of someone else caught her off guard just as he hoped.

He gave Naomi a brief look before making his way out the door. He stood on the edge of the apartment building and waited for ten minutes before she came down to speak with him.

“So, I’m guessing there’s more?” Naomi asked when she finally reached him.

“I’m going to tell you who my prime suspect is. I do not want you to approach them, I’ll be approaching them myself soon. My goal in telling you this is I want you to keep Misa far, far away from this person. Do you understand?”

“Okay, I can do that.” She agreed.

“Yagami Light.” L stated simply. Naomi nodded once, and he continued. “I will be going to a college entrance ceremony at the beginning of next month. Do not let Misa follow me.”

“You aren’t going to run away from her again, are you?” Naomi fixed him with a glare, and he shook his head.

“I will not distance myself from Misa, she would only run after me more. I just want some of my activities to remain secret from her so that she doesn’t attempt to get involved. I will actually be visiting more often over the next couple weeks to ensure her safety.” L explained. And if Kira was a fan of Misa, L hoped to lure his attention away from her and onto him.

“Okay, I got it. I’ll do anything to protect her.”

“I know.”

.

“Yagami Light did not have any magazines or collectibles of Misa, however, his younger sister has a couple of magazines stored in her room.” Watari reported as L entered the hotel that was currently serving as the task force headquarters.

“Has he ever been seen snooping through his sister’s things?” L asked.

“Not in any previous footage, no.”

L nodded as they slowly approached the room they were staying in. “Did they get any witness testimony? Any footage of the event?”

“There were no witnesses and the only footage showed Misa walking down the street before turning in the alley before shortly being followed by the stalker. No other persons were seen coming near the street until the police arrived.” Watari answered.

L chewed on his thumb as he wondered what could have happened. Was it possible that the stalker just randomly died of a heart attack?

As L entered the room, he found Matsuda holding up a magazine of Misa and explaining to Aizawa and Mogi how she was ‘the brightest star of our generation.’ When Aizawa and Mogi turned to him, Matsuda finally stopped his rant, looking embarrassed in front of his boss.

“Yagami-san, is your son a fan of Misa-Misa’s?” L asked coolly.

“What? No, not to my knowledge.” Soichiro responded, looking nervous and pained as he always did when L questioned him about his son.

“Ryuzaki, do you think Kira killed Misa-Misa’s stalker?” Matsuda cut in.

“Without evidence, we can’t be certain, but we should continue to look into the suspects and see if any of them have a connection to Misa.” L answered before grabbing his usual spot.

It was going to be another long day of coming up with no answers nor conclusions.

.

March 20, 2004

Over the course of the week, the task force was unable to dig up any connection to Misa among any of the suspects, except the Chief’s daughter, which Watari had already informed L of. L even had Chief Yagami dig around Light’s room and search for any evidence that his son had messed with his daughter’s magazines, but there was nothing. Another dead end in the case. It seemed like nothing would change any time soon and once again L was forced to wait until he could come face to face with his opponent, which the other members of the task force seemed to be slowly warming up to.

When L had Watari drop him off at Misa’s apartment that night, he could tell that there was something different in the atmosphere. He had been going straight to her place from work every night for the past week and nothing had changed. Naomi watched over her carefully and all she noticed was the people at work giving Misa more gifts and telling her they were so glad she was okay. No one else made a move on her and she was even allowed to finish work early most days. Everything seemed to be slowly getting back to normal for her, but today felt different. Before he even entered the apartment, L could tell that something was up.

“Hello?” He asked carefully as he knocked on the door. He heard a strange thumping that sounded like people running around and a lot of shushing before Misa finally answered the door. Her hair was a mess compared to its usual pristine display and she looked nervous as she smiled up at him.

“Is everything okay?” He asked as she pulled him inside.

“Of course! Of course! Let’s go to my room!” She said excitedly as she pushed him towards her door. She was hiding something, but he didn’t know what it was, or why she felt the need to hide it from him, and it immediately put him on edge.

“You seem nervous, are you sure you’re okay?” L asked as he sat down on her bed.

“Oh well, I was thinking of something, but I wasn’t sure how you would react, so nevermind that. Just forget about it, okay?” She said as she sat down beside him, purposely trying to look more nervous now. What kind of act was she putting on?

“What were you thinking about?”

She blushed bright red and he wasn’t so sure it was an act anymore. “Well um, I was thinking like… what if I got a strap-on one day… would that be something you’d be, um, comfortable trying?”

“I’d let you do anything to me.” He answered honestly. And the idea of Misa with a strap-on was quite intriguing, if not arousing.

Misa smirked at him as she pushed his legs down to sit on his lap. “Anything, hm? Even right now?”

“Anything.”

She may have just been trying to distract him from some bigger issue he had yet to figure out, but in that moment he no longer cared.

.

April 5, 2004

As L quietly followed behind Light and made his way to the stage for the opening ceremony, he spotted a familiar pair of glasses and a wig that immediately made him anxious. Naomi was supposed to keep her away from this, where even was the former FBI agent? But sure enough, Misa was sitting in the front row in her Kyoko disguise, chatting away with a bunch of other students.

When he made his address to the incoming freshman, out of the corner of his eye he noticed Misa staring just above his head. He wasn’t quite sure what that meant, but he shook it off and continued on with his plan, he couldn’t let his fear of something happening to Misa get in the way of the case. She was perfectly fine; she didn’t stand out at all and he’d only draw attention to her by looking at her. Surely Naomi was nearby looking out for her even if she wasn’t able to stop her from attending.

L quietly followed Light back down the stairs as he enacted his plan. “Yagami-kun. You’re the son of detective superintendent Soichiro Yagami of the NPA. Your respect for your father is matched only by your deep sense of justice. You aim to reach a leadership position in the NPA yourself, and have in the past provided insights that have led to the solution of several cases. And right now, you’re showing a great deal of interest in the Kira case. So if you will swear to me that you will not tell anybody, I shall place my faith in your abilities and sense of justice… and tell you something of vital importance regarding the Kira case.”

The teenager gave him a strange look before turning back around and replying, “I won’t tell anybody. What is it?”*

“I am L.”

.

He said all he needed to say and he provoked the reaction he wanted to from Light, so all he needed to do now was keep his enemy close to him and watch out for any moves. It would be much easier to do this if his girlfriend weren’t trying to weasel her way into the case.

As L sat in the back of Watari’s car, he wondered why Naomi let her come to the event when he explicitly told her not to. Why was Misa staring above his head like that? It also looked like she was staring at Light for a long time before that. Did she realize that Light was his prime suspect? Did Naomi tell her? Maybe he shouldn’t have trusted the older woman after all.

After thinking it over a bit longer, he directed Watari to drop him off at the model’s apartment once again. He needed answers and he was going to get them. Misa had never been this secretive with him before and he didn’t like not knowing what she was up to.

When he knocked on the door, he heard a loud ruckus and someone shouting curses. There was a great deal of commotion and he had to knock again before anyone answered. Finally, Naomi met him at the door and L fixed her with a withering stare.

“Why was Misa at the college entrance ceremony?”

“She already knew what college you were heading to because of the exams you took a few months ago. There was no stopping her.” Naomi said casually, as if she hadn’t disobeyed a direct order from him.

“Where is she now?” He asked.

“She’s in her room, getting dressed.”

“So, you don’t mind if I come inside to check?”

“I told you she’s getting dressed.”

“I’m her boyfriend, I’ve seen her naked plenty of times.” L said as he finally pushed past her and looked around. There were a lot of apples in the kitchen, something someone had tried to hide by haphazardly throwing a blanket over it. There was also a mess of papers with random notes written stuffed away under a pillow in the living room, but that was to be examined later.

Before he even opened the door to Misa’s room, he knew she wouldn’t be in there. He was annoyed when he walked inside and the blonde was no where to be seen, but more than that he was afraid. He was so terribly afraid that she was up to something dangerous and he was already too late to stop her.

Just then, the front door opened and Misa’s voice rang through, “Naomi you’re never gonna believe this, but Rem was right!”

“Misa, sh! We have a guest!” Naomi whisper-yelled.

Hearing her voice did not ease the sense of doom that L felt deep in the pit of his stomach, and as he stepped outside of her room to question her, he was struck by a nauseating feeling that things were only about to get worse. “Who’s Rem?”

“Oh! L! I uh, I didn’t know you were coming to visit me today! Let’s go into my room!” Misa suggested as she bounced over to him and tugged on his arm. She was still in her little Kyoko outfit, but she had removed her glasses, and her eyes looked all over the place as she tried to drag him away.

“Who’s Rem?” He repeated.

“Oh, uh, just some cool girl I met at the college today. Yeah, she’s into gothic stuff too, so we’re good friends now.” Misa said as she once again tried to will L to follow her into her room, but he would not budge.

“Why are you lying to me?”

“Ha, what? I would never lie to you!”

“Exactly,” he said as he turned to face her, crouching down to her level to look her directly in the eye, “Misa never lies. So why is she lying to me now?”

As the color drained from Misa’s face, L realized the answer to this question was going to change everything between them, and the sense of dread hung over him like a cloud. Yet he continued to press on.

“What’s going on? What aren’t you telling me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *These are the direct lines of their exchange in chapter 19 of the manga
> 
> Also, Kyoko is the name of the girl who thought L was attractive in the manga. I always thought she looked a lot like Misa's disguise when she went to see Light at Aoyama in the manga. 
> 
> That moment when you try to distract your detective boyfriend with sex but he doesn't fall for it. 
> 
> We all knew it had to come to this eventually, I hope you all won't be mad at Misa! She's only doing what she thinks is right! More will be explained in the next chapter. The next chapter will be a little weird because we'll have to go back in time to cover what Misa was up to during this chapter. 
> 
> Sorry for the late update, next week I'll return to the regular schedule! 
> 
> Thanks as always for reading!


	14. I Can't Lose You

Chapter 14

April 5, 2004

“Let’s just… let’s just sit down and I’ll explain it to you.” Misa said carefully when the initial shock wore off. She motioned for Naomi to leave the room as she sat down beside L on the couch. He immediately reached under the pillow and read the top of the notes she had gathered.

“’Rules for Using the Death Note…’ What is a death note?” He questioned.

Misa carefully gathered the notes from him and placed them on the coffee table. “We’ll get to that, okay? Let me just explain from the beginning.”

L nodded his head once, turning to her and giving her his full attention. Misa took a deep breath and tried to keep her attention focused on him as she told her story and not the god of death that was standing off to the side.

“Okay, some of this really isn’t gonna be believable, but I promise to tell you the whole truth. I’ll start from the beginning…

.

March 12, 2004

As Misa walked down the alley, she was suddenly struck with the eerie feeling that she was being followed. When she turned around, she spotted a middle-aged man she had never seen before. She tried to give him a polite smile and turn back around, but he called out to her.

“Misa-Misa, right? I’m a huge fan! Please let me tell you something, it’s important!”

Misa immediately felt on edge, but she worried that turning away from the man would only anger him. She could at least hear what he had to say and if she still felt unsafe, she had that belt that would call Watari’s phone. “Of course, Misa-Misa always has time for her fans!”

“What I want to tell you is this… I’ve fallen in love with you. I love you more than anything in this world and I would do anything for you. Please, will you be mine? Forever?” He asked as he stepped closer to her, revealing a ring in his left hand. The man had medium-length, dark hair and wore glasses and a business casual outfit, but Misa was certain she had never seen this man before. How could he love her? Did he even know her? And he wanted to marry her? What kind of a creep was he?

“Oh, that is very kind of you to say, but Misa-Misa is already involved with somebody.” She rejected as politely as possible.

The man stared at her in disbelief and then bowed his head, all his hair falling in front of his eyes. “I’ve come all this way to ask you to marry me, and you say no immediately? Do you even know all that I’ve done for you? How can you reject me like that?” 

Misa began to back away slowly, reaching for her belt, but her fingers trembled too much to push down firmly enough.

“Then I’ll kill you and then myself!” The man suddenly shouted as he produced a knife from his pocket with his right hand and pointed it towards her.

Misa quickly hit the belt buckle as hard as she could as many times as possible, but the fear that came over her prevented her from running away, she was glued to the spot. As he continued to walk towards her, she closed her eyes, and despite all the dread that washed over her, there was a small, almost happy feeling that said, ‘At least I’ll be reunited with my parents.’

Suddenly, Misa heard a thud, and the man was laying on the ground in front of her with no sign of life. Misa looked around quickly but saw no one else in the alley. Was the man really dead? Did Kira just kill him? Why would Kira save her? What should she do now?

When her phone started ringing, she jumped out of her skin before answering it. “H-hello?”

“Miss Amane? Is everything alright?” Watari’s voice answered and she’d never been happier to hear from the old man.

“Watari, thank God. I think… I think Kira just killed someone in front of me! You have to get here immediately! There was a stalker and he was following me and now- And now he’s dead!” Misa rushed out, somehow thinking the faster she said it the faster he could get here and take care of the situation.

“I’ll send police to your location immediately. Are you alright? Did he hurt you?” The old man asked calmly.

“No, no. I’m fine, I just… I think I almost died.”

.

March 13, 2004

“I’m okay, Mako-chan, really. You don’t need to trouble yourself and come all the way out here. I can probably visit soon, they might be giving me some time off work.” Misa rationalized. Naomi had stepped out for a quick cigarette, a bad habit she had developed since they moved out here, and Misa took the opportunity to rip off the bandaid and tell her sister what happened.

“Misa-Misa, you were attacked by a stalker! With how famous you’re becoming, it might happen again! Your agency needs to give you a bodyguard or something! I want to make sure you’ll be okay.” Her sister replied. Misa was used to her older sister being protective, but everyone around her had become so protective of her recently that it was smothering her.

“They actually did give me a bodyguard, so I’m okay, really.” A small lie, but her sister didn’t need to know all the details.

“Well at least they’re that competent,” Mako sighed, “Can you really visit soon? Mary misses you.”

“I miss her too, give her lots of kisses from me. I’ll take a look at my schedule and try to make room for a visit soon, I promise.”

After exchanging their goodbyes, Misa looked around her apartment, feeling uneasy. She got the sense that somebody was watching her, but no one was around. The feeling didn’t exactly scare her either, it was like some force was looking out for her. Maybe it was her parents? Maybe they were trying to tell her everything would be okay.

She sighed, making her way over to the fridge for a bottle of water when Naomi returned.

“So… how was it?” Naomi asked as she leaned against the kitchen wall.

“How was what?” Misa questioned, not really paying attention to her friend as she took a gulp of water.

“Oh, you know… the walls here are pretty thin.”

Misa immediately spit out her water and started choking. She hadn’t even thought about that, the fact that there was someone else in the house when they… “Oh gosh, I’m sorry Naomi!”

The older woman started laughing and Misa calmed down. “It’s fine, just send me a text next time or some kind of codeword so I know to cover my ears.”

Misa took another sip of water before finally answering her friend’s question. “It was actually good, it didn’t hurt like all my friends said it would. He was so careful with me. He cuddled me afterwards too, something a lot of my friends don’t get from their boyfriends.”

“It doesn’t surprise me that L would be a gentleman about the whole thing,” Naomi said, then added on, “Although it is kinda weird to imagine him as a sexual being. I always thought of him as asexual for some reason.”

“Well I guess you didn’t think about your boss’s sex life that often.” Misa giggled.

“No, not really. I guess that would be weird.”

Misa leaned against the fridge as she opted for a change of topic, not really used to having sex talk with others, especially not about her sex life. “Are you really okay with being my bodyguard? I know you were hoping to have a more active role on the case soon, not just following me around.”

“Following you around would lead to a more active role on the case, but no, I don’t mind. I prefer being able to watch everyone and see that they’re okay.”

“Are you really going to follow me 24/7?” Misa asked with a bit of amusement.

“Maybe not 24/7, I’ve heard enough of you having sex, I don’t think I want to see it too.” Naomi joked. Misa splashed her with some water and the two women laughed.

Things almost felt normal. Almost.

.

March 20, 2004

When Misa woke up that morning, the air felt different. Everything about the atmosphere of their apartment was just a little bit off and she found herself not matching her usual rhythm in her morning routine. As she brushed her hair in the bathroom, she suddenly heard the sound of something hitting the floor. Wondering if she had accidentally knocked something over while zoning out, Misa looked around before her eyes caught a black notebook sitting by the bathtub.

When she picked it up, she noticed the cover had weird characters on it that she didn’t recognize. She opened the notebook, but it was empty. Nothing inside at all. Misa didn’t remember buying this notebook, but it did fit her gothic look, so maybe she’d use it as her new diary or something.

The air around her felt colder, and when she turned back to the mirror, she noticed a figure standing behind her.

“Misa Amane.” The monster croaked.

Misa immediately screamed at the top of her lungs, but the monster covered her mouth with one hand and made a shushing motion with the other. Despite the fear and adrenaline coursing through her, when she looked into the monster’s eyes, for some reason she felt a sense of home and belonging.

“Misa! Misa, what’s happening?” Naomi yelled as she barged into Misa’s room and knocked on the bathroom door.

“She cannot hear me nor see me without touching that notebook.” The monster explained. “The notebook belongs to you, no one else.”

Misa looked back at the monster with confusion, but it said no more. Suddenly, Naomi was kicking down the door, as apparently Misa hadn’t answered her in time.

“What’s happening?” Naomi questioned, looking around and not seeing anything, gun at the ready.

Not knowing what else to do, Misa threw the notebook at her, and Naomi caught it with one hand. “Wha- AHHHHH!” Naomi screamed as she was suddenly facing a tall, skeletal monster that was holding onto Misa. She immediately tried shooting at it, but the monster grabbed the gun from her hand.

“If you make too much noise, you will attract the attention of other humans who will think you have gone insane. They cannot see me without touching the notebook.” The monster said.

Despite the chaos of the situation, a weird sense of calm came over Misa, and she stopped Naomi from trying to further attack the monster. “Wait, Naomi. Let’s let it talk first.” Naomi looked at her like she was crazy, but when the monster made no move to harm them, the former FBI agent backed down.

“Who are you?” Misa questioned.

“My name is Rem.”

“Okay, Rem. What is this notebook you’ve given me?”

“This is the death note. The person’s whose name is written in this book shall die. You must have the face of the person you are trying to kill in mind for the person to die. If you only write the name of the person with no details, they will die of a heart attack. Otherwise, you have forty seconds to specify the cause of death and six minutes and forty seconds to specify all the details.” Rem explained.

There was a long pause as the two women took all the information in. Misa had just been given a murder notebook, a murder notebook that sounded like the way Kira was killing people. A monster appeared before her and gave her a murder notebook that could give people heart attacks…

“Misa, do you realize what this means?” Naomi whispered.

“This is how Kira kills.” Misa gasped. “You’re a Shinigami.” She said as she looked at Rem and the creature nodded. “Shinigami are real and… and I have the same murder weapon that Kira uses…” Misa trailed off, walking into her room to grab another notebook and a pen.

She set the death note aside and sat down on her bed, opening the new notebook she produced and getting her pen ready. “Rem, please tell me everything you know about the death note.”

.

After hours and hours of Misa and Naomi exhausting every question they could think of and taking turns writing all the rules down, the two women were worn out. They laid down on the floor of the living room surrounded by notes, randomly listing off other questions that came to mind every now and then.

Rem was a great source of information. They learned that Kira got his notebook for a Shinigami named Ryuk who had tricked the Shinigami King into giving him an extra death note. However, Rem did not trick the Shinigami King into giving her a death note, and had instead gotten it from watching another Shinigami die, the one named Gelus.

Gelus’s story broke Misa’s heart, but there was something tragically romantic about it. He watched over her every day like a guardian angel and saved her life all for the sake of love, but was punished with his own death. Misa really was supposed to die that day, but Gelus saved her, and now she had his lifespan, however long that may be. She felt grateful to the Shinigami who she never got to meet and hoped that whatever afterlife existed for gods of death treated him well.

Rem didn’t know who Kira was and would be unable to tell them based on the rules of the Shinigami world, but there was the eye deal that would allow them to see the names and lifespans of everyone around them. Whoever didn’t have a lifespan would be Kira. Misa immediately offered to make the deal, but Naomi turned the idea down, telling Misa she shouldn’t give up half her lifespan so easily for the sake of finding Kira. They now knew how he killed, and that should be enough, the former FBI agent had reasoned.

They were also able to confirm that you could control people in multiple ways with the death note before killing them. There were limitations of course, the physical limits of the person you were controlling and the fact that you couldn’t write other names down along with it or they would just die, but there was a lot you could do. You could also use just a piece of the note to kill people. Misa wondered if Kira even carried the notebook with him at all or if he just carried pieces around with him.

Misa was beginning to realize just how incredibly powerful Kira really was. He didn’t have to kill everyone with heart attacks, he could choose accidents or diseases. If he chose for a disease to develop on its own, it could be years before the person he controlled died. Luckily, you couldn’t kill anyone who was less than 780 days old, which meant Misa’s niece was safe. You also couldn’t kill people over 124 years old with it, which seemed like an odd rule.

There were limitations to the death note as well. You couldn’t extend anyone’s life by setting a death date beyond their original lifespan. If you wrote someone’s name wrong four times, they could not be killed by the death note, but if you wrote the person’s name wrong four times on purpose, you would die and the person you tried to save could still be killed by the death note. If two people wrote someone’s name at the same time, within .06 seconds exactly, the person could not be killed by the death note, but once again if you did this on purpose, the same thing would happen. Misa had exhausted all the ways of potentially saving someone, hoping to find a way to ensure the safety of her loved ones, but nothing worked.

Another odd rule was the 23 day rule, you could only write deaths up to 23 days out, but if you assigned someone to die of disease, that rule no longer mattered and they would die whenever the disease took hold of them. Misa thought about writing dying of old age for everyone she cared about, but Rem and Naomi quickly pointed out that it wouldn’t work, and even if she chose a disease like Alzheimer’s, there was no telling what the death note might do.

Using the death note dooms the person who used it to never be able to go to heaven or hell, but Misa found she didn’t care about that much. She would doom herself if it meant she could save everyone she loved. Naomi didn’t want her to use the notebook at all, stating that it was morally wrong and that they should only use it to find and beat Kira, but Rem said the notebook was hers and she should use it for herself. What Misa most wanted to do was find Kira and write his name down in the death note, that way she could ensure he never killed L or Naomi or anyone else ever again.

Misa didn’t have the same strong moral compass Naomi and L had. She had her own compass that told her to do whatever it took to take care of her family and friends. Misa would just have to work outside of them and not let either of them find out about it. It would be hard to do, but she had a Shinigami on her side, so it might not be impossible. Besides, there was no reason for Naomi to act as her bodyguard any longer as they now knew it was Gelus who killed the stalker and not Kira.

Misa would just have to wait for the right opportunity to speak to Rem on her own.

.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, and Misa hurriedly began gathering up all the notes they’d been writing. She could hear L’s voice on the other side, but she wasn’t ready for him to know about all this just yet. It would be a lot to take in anyway.

“Misa, what are you doing?” Naomi asked. 

“Sh! Quickly, gather up all the notes and hide them in your room! Hide the notebook there too!” Misa whispered.

“Shouldn’t we-”

“Sh! Quieter!”

“Shouldn’t we tell L about all of this?” Naomi whispered back, exasperated.

“No, not yet. It would be too much. We freaked out over seeing Rem, imagine how he’d react.”

“But wouldn’t it be better to-”

“Sh!”

“Fine!” Naomi said, giving in and taking everything to her room.

“Rem, can you like, leave for a little bit?” Misa asked.

“I cannot go too far, but I can leave the apartment building if you wish.” The creature answered.

“Yes, thank you! You’re the best!” Misa tried to pat down her hair as she went to answer the door, before suddenly adding in, “Naomi, go to the store and get her some apples!” Maybe that one message from Kira had been true.

Misa finally opened the door and L stared at her, taking in what must have been a bit of a disheveled appearance and probably already forming questions she didn’t want him to ask. She quickly pulled him inside before he could think of too much else.

“Is everything okay?” He finally asked. 

“Of course! Of course! Let’s go to my room!” She said excitedly, pushing him towards the door. He let himself be guided inside, and Misa stood back, trying to come up with some explanation for how weird she was acting. She never was that great at lying, at least not to him.

“You seem nervous, are you sure you’re okay?” He asked once he was sitting on her bed in his normal position.

“Oh well, I was thinking of something, but I wasn’t sure how you would react, so nevermind that. Just forget about it, okay?” Misa answered, sitting down beside him and twiddling her thumbs, trying to appear more nervous as an idea came to mind.

“What were you thinking about?”

Well, it wasn’t a complete lie because she had been thinking about it, but she still blushed bright red as she asked, “Well um, I was thinking like… what if I got a strap-on one day… would that be something you’d be, um, comfortable trying?”

“I’d let you do anything to me.” Misa was stunned by how quickly he answered that. L really wasn’t like other guys. 

She smirked as she was able to push his legs down and climbed on top of his lap to straddle him. “Anything, hm? Even right now?”

“Anything.” He breathed back, sufficiently distracted.

Misa heard Naomi leave the apartment and Rem had left some time ago, so it was fine for her to do things with him now, she decided. They hadn’t done anything since the last time as it had been a busy week for him and every time he came to see her at night, they just ended up falling asleep together. She decided she would make up for lost time and have some fun with him.

Misa placed a hand on his chest and lightly pushed him back onto her bed. She hovered over him, tracing his lips with hers, but not quite kissing him, and trailed her lips over to his ear. “Misa’s in charge tonight.” She whispered.

“Yes ma’am.” He replied, and she shivered. She kind of liked being in control like this.

Misa slowly kissed down his neck and then lightly tugged his shirt down to suck on his collarbone. His hands drifted to her sides, but she gently grabbed them and brought them back to the bed. “No touching.”

L sighed, but did not argue as she continued to hold his wrists down to the bed and trace her lips across his face, giving light kisses here and there. Finally, she met his lips and sucked harshly before sucking his tongue into her mouth and lightly biting down. L groaned, hands twitching just a bit, but he made no move to touch her.

She sat up lightly to remove his shirt and then began kissing down his chest. Her hands left his wrists to begin stroking down his sides and L sucked in a breath as he tried not to react so much to the touch. Misa loved how vocal and expressive he was and decided to try to provoke more reactions from him by gently grinding against his crotch as she continued to massage his sides and the skin just under his belly button. The man trembled underneath her, fingers digging into the sheets as he tried not to disobey her order.

Misa slowly moved down his body, taking his jeans and underwear down with her, and was greeted with his erection standing tall. Misa kissed his thighs and brushed his erection with her cheek, trying to tease him as much as possible until he couldn’t take it anymore.

“Misa.” He moaned. Misa giggled at the man’s struggle, loving the affect she had on him. She began to slowly trace her tongue up his dick until she got to the slit at the top and began to suck on the head. L groaned in response, fingers still clutching the sheets in a death grip.

Misa still wasn’t ready to take the whole thing into her mouth, it was too intimidating, but she took as much of him into her mouth as she could and used her hand to cover the rest. She stroked up and down slowly as she sucked harshly at the top. L was writhing beneath her, trying his hardest not to buck his hips up into her mouth.

Misa sped her hand up, hitting herself a few times as she did so, but L was loving the attention, moaning underneath her and begging for more. She sucked and let her the flat of her tongue press firmly against the slit at the head, making him whine even more. All of her actions were designed to only tease for now, she wouldn’t let him cum just yet.

She finally pulled away from him and L whimpered at the loss. One by one, she began to slowly remove her clothes, dancing sensually as she did so. L watched her with eyes ablaze with passion and lust and she wondered if this was how he looked when he watched her as she went undercover as a stripper all those months ago. Did he even desire her back then?

“Do you like watching Misa dance?” She asked as she removed the last of her clothing.

“Yes, Misa.” He said as he stared back at her, fingers still trembling.

She climbed back on top of him, rubbing her wet pussy against his dick, but not letting it go inside her just yet. “Have you always wanted Misa like this?”

“Yes.”

“Did you ever touch yourself and think of Misa?” She wasn’t sure what was making her so bold tonight, but she decided to ride this wave of confidence out for as long as it lasted.

“Y-yes.”

Misa trailed her hand down her body to her center and gently inserted two fingers inside her, masturbating just above him. She sighed as she took her time with herself, going at a slow, lazy pace. “Misa thought of you too.”

L made another whimpering noise, watching her hand and struggling not to buck up against her. “Misa… Misa please.”

“Please what?” She whispered as she leaned down to suck on his earlobe.

“Nnnh… please fuck me.”

“Hm, well since you said please…” Misa stopped fingering herself above him and lined herself up with his dick, sinking down onto it slowly. The stretch was still intense, but it felt so right. She wasn’t able to make it all the way down his cock as it started to feel too deep, but enough of him was inside her for it to feel amazing.

“Misa…” L whined. She started to move up and down, riding him in an unhurried manner, and L met her with his own slow, thrusting motion. She braced a hand on each side of his head, leaning over him more as she got used to the feeling of him inside of her. The first time had felt intense, but this was a whole new level. He was even deeper than before and she was in complete control this time. As much as she liked the moments where L had his way with her, there was something so exciting about being the one in charge and making L submit to her entirely.

As she had adjusted to the feeling of him inside her and was able to take more of it, she picked up the pace and L began bucking up into her faster. She took one hand back and pushed it between their bodies to massage her clit, grinding down into the friction and clenching L’s dick with her internal muscles as she did so. L whined out again, one hand reaching up to tug at his own hair because he couldn’t touch her.

“L-look at you.” Misa sighed as she moved her hips against his. “You look so fucked. All because of Misa.”

L moaned, closing his eyes and throwing his head back. “Misa, please… I want to… I want to touch you.”

“Be a good boy.” Misa hushed, purposely clenching down on him to make him cry out again. She rubbed her clit faster as she continued to ride his dick. L was bucking up into her wildly, unable to control himself or have as much care and precision as he usually did now that he wasn’t allowed to hold her. His hair was even more of a mess than usual and he was sweating like crazy. She realized she was sweating too, but she didn’t care. It was all worth it to see L this messed up because of her, desperate to cum. He was always so careful, and as sweet as it was, she loved seeing this more animalistic side to him that was having trouble controlling himself.

Misa leaned down to kiss him fiercely on the lips and he moaned into the kiss. She stopped riding him and just kissed him and rubbed at her clit instead with him still inside of her. L made wanting little noises against her lips, clearly confused as to why she stopped, but she wanted to torture him a little longer. She wanted him to beg her again and again, to be completely lost in her and his need to orgasm.

Misa trailed her lips down to his collarbone and sucked as she pinched her clit, finally reaching her own peak and falling over the edge. She moaned against his skin and humped down onto his dick as she came, walls clenching him and making him whimper out in need. Little aftershocks continued to hit her as she slowly climbed off of him, making her legs all shaky and it harder to stand.

“Misa!” L called. He was as hard as ever with his dick wet and covered in her orgasm. He was trembling so badly and his toes were curling and uncurling. “Misa, please! Please!”

“Please what?” Misa sang back to him.

“Please let me cum.”

“Hm… should I?” Misa whispered as she trailed a hand down his chest.

“Yes! Please!” He gasped.

“Well you have been a good boy.” Misa laid down on the bed on her back and beckoned him over to her. L hastily climbed on top of her, hands digging into the sheets on either side of her head. He was still waiting for her to instruct him and she felt giddy with power. He wouldn’t do anything until she told him to, still surrendering all of his control to her.

Misa reached up and kissed him before once again aligning their bodies and letting him thrust into her. L immediately buried his face in her neck and quickened his rhythm, thrusting into her with complete reckless abandon, desperately seeking his own end. This wasn’t the same L who had been gentle with her before, but she loved this side of him just as much.

Misa cried out underneath him, the feeling so intense and building up another orgasm for her. She held onto him, digging her fingernails into his back as he desperately fucked her. Her clit grazed against his skin and she bucked up into him, seeking more of that friction despite her heightened sensitivity from her last orgasm.

“Misa, Misa…” L whimpered. He kissed her neck and sucked so hard until she was certain he would leave marks she’d have to apply makeup to in the morning. She felt his whole body begin to shake and knew he was about to reach his end. Her hands left his back to stroke his sides and then he was losing it, fucking her through his orgasm and making her cum with him.

Misa’s other orgasms with him had been good, but this was the first one that made her see stars. She held onto him tightly, crying out as the wave crashed over her. He was a complete mess as well, moaning into her ear as he came deep inside her for what felt like an eternity.

When they were finally able to catch their breath again, L mumbled against her ear, “Next time, I’m in charge.”

Misa giggled. “Sure you will be.”

.

April 2, 2004

Misa learned from her old friends at the entrance exam that the college entrance ceremony was just in a few days. L had also told her he’d be busy over the next couple of days, so she knew he must be following another Kira suspect. Despite everything, he continued to try to keep her away from the case.

She really couldn’t complain too much though because much to Naomi’s exasperation, she still hadn’t told him about the death note or Rem. She would often kick both Naomi and Rem out to have alone time with her boyfriend. Misa would keep the notes and the notebook hidden in Naomi’s room, but didn’t feel the need to cover up the growing apple pile in the kitchen. Whenever L got curious, she would just distract him with sex, which would leave him exhausted and unable to think.

She started collecting more notes too, learning more about the eyes and how they worked. She was going to make the eye deal even if Rem and Naomi were against it. It was their best shot at finding Kira and from there she’d figure out what to do next. She knew she couldn’t just kill Kira and leave another death note out in the world. She would need to get his notebook from him first.

Tricking Naomi wasn’t too hard. Misa felt a little bad about lying, but she knew that Naomi’s plan of taking Misa’s death note to the task force would backfire. At best they would just laugh at the two women and at worst they would accuse Misa of being Kira. Misa knew L would know better, but what could he really do up against an opponent with supernatural powers? It was in his best interest that Misa put a stop to Kira here and now.

“Rem couldn’t tell me my exact lifespan, but she told me about all the people Gelus killed, so I did the math and putting all their lifespans together and halving it, I still end up with seventy years. So, do you see why it isn’t a big deal for me to do the eye trade? And this way we’ll know for sure if L’s suspect is Kira!” Misa said, although it was all bullshit, Misa had no idea how many years Gelus gave her. 

“It doesn’t seem like I can talk you out of this and I’ve been trying for weeks.” Naomi sighed. “Fine, but if you are going to the university you’re going with a wire and a camera on you and the moment you try to get in contact with the suspect, I’m telling L.”

“Fine, fine. I won’t try to contact the suspect. But then we can plan together once I know for sure he’s Kira.”

“L will be mad at me for disobeying orders, but I suppose this will work.” Naomi replied, then added, “And after this you’ll finally tell L, right?”

“Yes, yes. Of course!” Misa said, though she wasn’t fully certain she would. After spotting Kira with the Shinigami eyes, she was hoping to ditch whatever equipment Naomi put on her and follow Kira until she saw where he kept his notebook. Then, she would try to steal the notebook and kill him with it. After that, she supposed she would burn them or something as they’d be of no more use.

“And you’re sure she’ll be able to spot Kira with the Shinigami eyes, Rem?” Naomi asked.

“Yes, it will be obvious. He will be the only one without a lifespan.” The monster answered. Misa hoped Naomi didn’t ask Rem about Misa’s lifespan lie because she had a good feeling the god of death would rat her out.

“Then it’s settled. Rem, give me the eyes.”

.

April 5, 2004

 _Light Yagami. What a weird name. He looks so serious too._ _He looks too attractive to be a serial killer, but it has to be him. He doesn’t have a lifespan._ Misa thought to herself as she watched Kira ascend the stage and her boyfriend follow right behind him.

“The guy on the left is so cute! Do you think he’d go for one of us?” The girl next to Misa asked.

“Meh, I think the guy on the right is much cuter.” Misa replied, looking up at L. It was just then that she noticed his name, his real name. _L Lawliet… How do you even pronounce that? What an interesting name._

“What are you talking about, Kyoko? The guy on the left is way better looking!” The girl next to her argued.

 _Bitch_. Misa thought.

After the ceremony, Misa stayed back awhile, before ‘accidentally’ running into a guy with a cup of water, damaging the wire and camera on her. _Well, now that that’s settled…_

Misa waited for L to leave before she started to tail Kira. There was a large crowd, so she didn’t stand out. The teenager seemed incredibly on edge though, probably because of whatever L said to him while they were leaving the stage. It didn’t seem like she’d be able to find his death note on him, especially not in this crowd, and he was unlikely to lead her back towards it with how paranoid he seemed. It might be better for her to just leave and try to find him another day, now that she knew what school he went to.

Just then, he turned around and looked at her, and Misa blushed, quickly ducking her head down and hoping her disguise was good enough for him not to know who she truly was.

“Misa, you are playing a dangerous game.” Rem warned. “Kira’s Shinigami has noticed me, and he could say something to Kira.”

 _Then there’s no choice, I need to approach him._ Misa decided. She started to follow the man again, trying to catch up to him. Once the crowd had died down around them, she tapped him on the shoulder, and when he turned to face her again with a questioning look, she fixed him with a big smile.

“Yagami Light, right? I just wanted to say that I’m a big fan.” Misa said, crossing her hands behind her back and trying to look cute.

“Oh, thank you. And you are?”

“Sato Kyoko. I was thinking maybe we could share notes one day.” She said with a wink. She hoped that was enough for him to understand.

The teenager stared at her for a moment before his expression changed to a slightly more serious one. His Shinigami must have said something to him. He eyed her again, as if studying her and trying to glean as much of her character as he could from this small exchange. It reminded her of L in a way. “Sharing notes could be dangerous. Others might think it’s wrong.” He finally said.

“You’re right, I’ve never done it before, but I was hoping you could teach me. I’ll do whatever you say, sensei.”

“I’m sorry, Sato-san, but I don’t think I’d be a fitting teacher. I have to watch my own back.” He replied.

“That’s too bad, I’ve had my eye on you.” She said, slowly walking away, “If you ever change your mind, find me sometime. I won’t make a move until you do.”

Kira said nothing in response, so Misa left, walking over to a nearby café to get a quick drink. She didn’t want to go to her apartment right away in case the young man decided to follow her. She could have Rem be lookout in the meantime.

“Misa, I don’t think that was a good idea. Ryuk was snickering the whole time, and that’s never a good sign.” Rem said.

 _You worry too much, Rem._ Misa thought as she drank her coffee, looking out at the students around them. _I have the eyes, so I’m more powerful than him._

After finishing her drink and having Rem check around for Kira, Misa finally made her way back towards her apartment. She couldn’t wait to tell Naomi her plan worked, even if the older woman yelled at her for getting her wire and camera ruined. She knew exactly who Kira was now and they were one step closer to beating him.

.

“This is a death note… and this is how Kira kills people?” L asked. Misa nodded in response. “And you were given this death note by Rem after she witnessed another Shinigami die by saving you from the stalker?” Misa nodded again.

“Do you want to see Rem?” She asked. She made the Shinigami hide in her room when she handed L the death note. She had also let him read over all the notes she and Naomi had written, except for the ones about the eyes. She didn’t really want to show him all of this stuff, but it was too late now. The notes were supposed to be in Naomi’s room, but the woman must have purposely left them out to force Misa into having this conversation with him. It had to be done, she was no good at lying to him, and she couldn’t distract him with sex this time.

“Okay.” L said. He braced himself as the creature slowly exited her room. Amazingly, he did not scream, but just sat there with his jaw hung open for quite some time before saying, “Apologies, Rem-san, I have never seen a god of death before.”

“That’s alright.” The Shinigami replied.

Misa had spent the last hour telling L everything, well everything except the finer details of the eye deal and the part where she just approached Kira and essentially offered to help him to trick him into trusting her. That part didn’t need to be said.

Or so she thought.

“And you were able to tell that Yagami Light is Kira with the Shinigami eyes Rem traded to you because he has no lifespan, but you can see everyone else’s lifespan?” L asked. _Uh oh._

“Y-yeah.”

“These eyes let you see everyone’s names? Why are they left out of your notes? They seem like a useful tool, so why hasn’t Kira made this trade?” L questioned.

“Well, the eyes are a lot to handle. I see everyone’s names and lifespans all the time. I don’t know how to calculate the numbers, but it’s still a lot. It makes me sad when it looks like people have shorter lifespans.” She replied. This was true after all, she saw a kid the other day with a three digit lifespan, she didn’t know what that meant, but it didn’t seem good.

“I think there is something else you are not telling me.” L finally said as he put the notes to the side.

“I can see your name too, but I don’t know how to pronounce it. It looks pretty.” She said. “I won’t tell anyone what it is though, of course.”

“That’s not it. There’s something more. Why hasn’t Kira made the eye deal? What do you trade for the eyes?” L asked, leaning in closer to Misa. She started fidgeting, not wanting to answer his question, but she knew he’d keep hounding her until she did.

“Well you see, when Gelus died I got his lifespan, and he was a Shinigami, so he must have had a really long lifespan, and so it was okay for me to make the trade, but someone like Kira probably wouldn’t want to because he has a normal lifespan.” Misa rushed out.

“What did you trade?” L asked again, his eyes wider.

“It’s not a big deal, okay? You can’t freak out.” She took in a deep breath before saying as fast as possible, “I traded half my lifespan.”

L’s eyes widened impossibly more, but he still said nothing. He did nothing. Just stared at her, which somehow made it worse. Then, he got to his feet and started pacing around her living room.

“Like I said, I have my lifespan plus Gelus’s lifespan, so that’s a lot of years!”

“No, you have Gelus’s lifespan. Your lifespan ended when the stalker attacked you.” L corrected, still pacing around. She could see that he was biting down on his thumb.

She got to her feet as well and defended, “Well that’s still a lot of years!”

“You don’t know that. You don’t know how many years you got.” He picked up the notes again. “In the notes about the Shinigami world, it says that the Shinigami aren’t active about killing people and only kill when they are about to die, otherwise they are seen as working too hard. Gelus has been watching you for the last nineteen years, so how hard has he been working?”

“Well he killed the stalker, so I at least got his lifespan! That’s gotta be like thirty years at least!”

“Or it could be two weeks, and now you have one.” L argued.

“Well it’s done now, there’s no reason to discuss it further.” Misa said as she approached him, trying to get him to calm down, she had never seen him this worked up before.

L backed away from her, not letting her touch him as he continued, “It was a bad idea. You should have discussed this with me. You should have told me about the death note sooner and we could have made a plan of action together. You shouldn’t have left me out of this.”

“I was going to tell you after! I just didn’t want to worry you! And now look at you, worried!”

“I’m not worried, I’m-” L shook his head. He resumed his pacing once again.

“Misa wanted to inform you after she approached Kira.” Rem suddenly added in.

“Rem!” Misa gawked. She knew the Shinigami would sell her out.

“You approached Kira?” L froze.

“No! Well, yes! But I gave him a fake name and told him I was a fan, nothing more!”

“Was there more?” L asked, turning to Rem.

“His Shinigami saw me and most likely told him that Misa had a Shinigami with her. Misa also indicated to him that she had the eyes and would be willing to work with him.” Rem answered.

“As a trick! I was manipulating him!” Misa justified.

L started walking around once again, this time with his head in his hands, mumbling, “Why? Why would you do that?”

“I’m trying to help you! Why are you so upset about this?”

“BECAUSE I CAN’T LOSE YOU!” L shouted. They paused, both equally shocked by L’s outburst. He had never shouted before. He never even raised his voice before. And now he was… trembling.

“L…” Misa whispered, “I’m sorry…” When she took a step forward, he immediately took a step back.

“I have to go.” He said in a voice much quieter than before. Before she could say anything else, he was already out the door.

.

In Wammy’s seventy years of life, he had learned many things. He had learned about the scars of war as a young man and how they never quite heal. He had learned how to invent things in his time after the war, a hobby to help cope that led to an abundance of wealth. He had learned how to care for others, how to help children in situations much less fortunate than his own. And when he found that eight-year-old child who was scared out of his mind of what was to come next, he learned to love.

Raising L hadn’t been easy, he had a penchant for trouble and he was far more intelligent than any other kid Wammy had ever met before. When he decided on detective work at a young age, Wammy had agreed to it, hoping that he could still raise the young lad into a fine gentleman.

Over the years, as L became more distanced from his peers, the old man would wonder if he had messed up, if he should have guided L’s genius towards some over avenue. He often worried that he would never see his son settle down and have a family. Wammy knew that he wasn’t long for this world, and if L didn’t settle down soon, he might never get a chance to see it. He was beginning to worry that L would never have someone in his life who he cared for with his whole being. Sure, L cared for people in general in the grand scheme of things, but he didn’t make those individual connections, didn’t have anyone truly special to him.

And then Miss Amane walked into their lives and everything changed. For the first time, Wammy got to watch his son fall in love, and with a kind woman who was so devoted to him. It was the best thing Wammy could have hoped for. Maybe he tried a little too hard to push L in the right direction, but he wanted to make sure his son didn’t miss out on a good thing. He could see that the woman was special to L right away and he didn’t want L to push her away out of fear. He had raised L to be more of a gentleman than to ghost her as he tried to do.

Wammy taught L many things. He taught him how to command police forces to do his bidding. He taught him how to defend himself with various fighting styles and weapons. He taught him how to drive, and even how to pilot a helicopter. He taught him many things, but the one thing he forgot to teach him turned out to be much more important than he thought it would be. He forgot to teach him about heartbreak.

There were times when Wammy wanted to tell his son that it was okay for him to abandon the Kira case and run off with the woman he loved. He wanted to tell his son that this didn’t have to be his burden, that the world may have called on him to save them, but there were others still up to the task as well. He knew L wouldn’t listen to any of that though, but maybe he still should have said it.

That was what Wammy was thinking about when L stepped into his office at midnight after having just walked all the way back to the hotel through the rain.

“L, what is it? What’s wrong?” Wammy asked as he turned around in his chair to face his son. L’s hair covered his eyes, and he was looking down at the ground, the water soaking through to the floor. As he stood before him, Wammy did not see the twenty-four-year-old seasoned detective, but instead saw that scared eight-year-old once again.

And when L finally raised his head up, the old man saw something he hadn’t seen since that night. Tears. And so he did what he had before, he grabbed a blanket, some cookies, and some tea and told his son that everything was going to be alright. Wammy stayed up with him all night as he cried his heart out, and then helped put him to bed in the early morning.

He would need to make a call to one Miss Amane in the morning to learn about what happened as L would likely never tell him. And then they would learn how to handle it together, just like they did before.

Wammy had learned many things in his life, and he was about to learn a whole lot more about a world he never even knew existed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should be doing work not writing fanfiction but oh wellllllllllll. 
> 
> An early update, as a holiday gift, because I might not update next week. Gotta take some time to prep for finals and reorganize my life. Also I might be doing another oneshot soon or multiple oneshots soon, who knows with how my brain works. 
> 
> I hope you all see Misa as believably smart in this fic, but still incredibly impulsive. I also still wanted to keep that aspect of her moral ambiguity in the fic. 
> 
> The exchange with [insert random student] also comes from the manga, as does the line about her being more powerful than Light. I actually initially thought Misa would be a villain that would kill Light when she was first introduced in the manga because that line was so sus. 
> 
> Anyways, until next time! Thanks as always for reading!


	15. So Much

Chapter 15

April 6, 2004

Misa was hardly able to sleep knowing that L was upset with her, and for good reason. The more she thought about it, she realized she had been too impulsive, but she really did believe that taking Kira out first was the best hope they had of all of them surviving. Maybe she should have discussed all that with L first though, or at least the part where she halved her lifespan.

L probably would have found some trick for Rem to show them who Kira was without the eyes. He was much cleverer than her with solid plans of action that always garnered results. She just did things in the moment, and though that usually worked for her, it definitely had its downsides. Seeing the fear in L’s eyes hurt her, especially knowing that she did that to him.

On top of that, she had lied to Naomi, who was practically her best friend. Not long after L left, the older woman cornered her to ask her own questions.

“Why did you tell me you knew how many years you got from Gelus?” Naomi asked.

“I didn’t want you to worry. You weren’t going to be comfortable with me getting the eyes unless I said I was sure I had enough time to spare.” Misa answered. Unlike how things went down with L, the two women were sitting on couches opposite each other and speaking calmly.

“Misa, I don’t want to beat a dead horse, but-”

“I know. I should have told you the truth. I should have told L the truth. I’m sorry.” Misa put her head in her hands and sighed heavily. She had really messed things up this time, hadn’t she?

“Why were you so set on using the death note?” Naomi questioned after a long pause.

“I want him dead.” Misa admitted. “I want Kira dead and I figured you and L wouldn’t let me do it, so I should act on my own.”

Misa picked the note up and continued on, “It would be so easy too. I know his name now; I could write it down right now and the case would be solved. And you know how dangerous he is. If we all want to get out of this alive, it’s him or us.”

“Misa, stop.” Naomi said as she reached out and grabbed the note from the young model’s hands. “I understand how you feel, trust me, I’ve had my moments where I wished I could get my revenge on Kira too, but this isn’t the way. It’ll be better if we all work together.”

“And what happens after we turn Kira in? Won’t L have to explain how he killed? Do you know how many people would kill to get their hands on this thing?” Misa argued, pointing to the cursed object. She could just imagine other nations losing their shit over the chance to use such a weapon.

“L wouldn’t let them get their hands on the death note, you know that. He’d destroy it. The secret would die with us.” Naomi said as she set the note down again.

She was probably right; it was unlikely L would let the note fall into the wrong hands when he knew how dangerous it was. Misa still couldn’t help but think it would all just be easier if they killed Light right now and washed their hands of the whole situation.

“I don’t want L to die.” Misa sighed, feeling defeated.

“And he doesn’t want you to die either. Neither do I.” Naomi replied, gently placing her hand on Misa’s knee. “Using this note will only bring about greater misfortune, isn’t that right, Rem?”

The Shinigami had been quiet since the detective left, but she decided to finally add her own voice into the conversation. “I could kill Kira for you.”

“Really?” Misa asked, perking up. The offer surprised her, she hadn’t even considered asking Rem to kill Kira, but then another thought suddenly came to her, “But wouldn’t that kill you?”

“There’s a chance I would die, but I am willing to risk it to ensure that Misa has a happy life.” Rem answered.

The Shinigami’s answer reminded Misa of the story of Gelus, and Misa wondered why Rem would be willing to do so much for her, but then it hit her. Misa stared at her with wide eyes, the realization that yet another god of death had fallen for her hitting her full force. “But I don’t want Rem to die.”

“I won’t make a move without your word, but if it comes down to it, I will write Kira’s name down to save your life.”

“Rem, I don’t know if I’m worth all that.” Misa said quietly. She didn’t understand how she could earn the love of two powerful gods, so much so that they would be willing to give their lives up for her. She was just one girl and all she did was model and cause problems for others.

“You are. Gelus knew it and I see it now too.” Rem stated simply.

Before the conversation could continue much further, Naomi stood and said, “It’s been a long night, we should all go to bed and regroup in the morning. We shouldn’t make any decisions without some proper time to rest and think.”

“You’re right.” Misa said, getting to her feet as well. Before she entered her own room, she turned back to her friend and said, “I really am sorry I lied to you. I’m sorry if I worried you today too. I didn’t mean to cause so much trouble.”

“It’s okay, Misa, really.” Naomi replied with a soft smile. “Get some rest, I’ll see you in the morning.”

After their conversation ended, Misa found herself laying in her bed, staring up at the ceiling. Part of her still wanted to write Light’s name down so all of this could finally be over, but she didn’t want to risk upsetting L and Naomi any further. She just wanted things to go back to the way they were before the Kira case began.

Honestly, what she really wanted was to travel back in time to May and save her parents’ lives. After that, she’d somehow find L, Raye, Naomi, and the others all over again. Mako would be raising her baby alongside their parents who would help her every step of the way. Misa would introduce her mom to L and they would laugh and talk about how they already knew each other from working together. Misa’s dad would tell Misa she had found a good one and that she should hold on tight and never let go. Raye and Naomi would have their perfect wedding and Misa could be the maid of honor. Then after the ceremony, all the older adults would pester her and L about how they would be next. It would all be so lovely.

If only.

.

The next morning, Misa awoke to a phone call from Watari. She told him it would be better for her to explain everything in person, and then promptly got ready for the elder man’s visit. She decided she’d show him the note and all the rules, but hid Rem in her room so the old man wouldn’t be terrified. The last thing she wanted was for him to have a heart attack.

The former inventor took all the knowledge of the Shinigami world in pretty well in comparison to the three others who had learned about it. In fact, he didn’t show any kind of major reaction at all to the news of death gods existing and the powerful weapon of the death note being the tool Kira used to murder criminals. Misa was impressed with how he just nodded and accepted all of this as if it were just another Tuesday for him. Maybe old age had mellowed him out that much or maybe he just thought she was completely crazy and he was used to crazy people.

When she told him about the eyes and how she had made the trade for them, she could see a look of realization cross his face, but he didn’t show any anger towards her. Instead, he just simply asked if there was a way to reverse the deal, but unfortunately, there wasn’t. After that, the only questions he had were about destroying the death note. 

“Rem told me we can destroy the death note by burning it.” Misa replied. “Once it’s destroyed though, I’ll lose my Shinigami eyes and any memories tied to the death note.”

“You’ll lose memories?” Watari questioned.

“She will forget the names and lifespans she’s seen. She’ll forget about me and the Shinigami world too. Any memories directly tied to the note will be forgotten, but everything else will remain. She won’t forget the time she’s spent with all of you or the love she feels.” Rem answered from inside her bedroom.

“Will I forget about Kira?” Misa suddenly wondered.

“You won’t forget that he exists, but you’ll forget who he is exactly and how he killed.” Rem responded.

“We can destroy it after the case is solved, but in the meantime, we should keep it hidden.” Watari decided.

“I’ve been hiding it in the apartment, but it would be nice to have a better hiding spot.”

“I have an invention I made not long ago that could be of use. It’s a briefcase that combusts on the spot if the wrong code is entered.”

Misa could only see this going wrong for her. “What if I don’t remember the code?”

Watari removed his glasses to clean them a bit before he answered. “It may be for the best if only L and I know the code.”

Misa wanted to argue with that, but just then there was a knock at the door. She glanced at Watari, who also seemed surprised, and then at Naomi who had just entered the room from her bedroom, but she had no knowledge of the guest either. Misa finally made her way over to the door to answer it, trying not to let her hopes build up too much. With her luck, it would be Light Yagami standing on the other side.

She peeked through the door’s peephole and much to her delight, there L stood in his usual awkward stance. She threw the door open and was about to rush in to hug him, but stopped herself as she realized he was likely still upset with her. Would he even accept a hug from her now? Was he even here for her? Maybe he just came to collect Watari and go. Wouldn’t it be weird if she didn’t hug him though? She always hugged him in greeting and if she didn’t now that would prove things were still messed up between them.

As she stood there debating with herself, L just stared at her until she eventually understood that he was waiting to be let in. She stepped aside awkwardly, and L looked like he might say something, but then changed his mind as he closed the door behind him and walked into the living room.

Naomi had gravitated towards the couch, accepting that some impromptu meeting was about to occur, and Misa decided to sit beside her instead. L sat in a chair by himself in his usual position, staring down at his hands as he held onto his knees.

After an uncomfortable pause, L cleared his throat. “I suppose you’ve caught up on the case?” He addressed Watari.

“Yes, Misa just finished informing me.” His caretaker confirmed.

“Good. Is Rem here as well?” He asked no one in particular, keeping his eyes fixed on some spot in the kitchen.

“Yes, she’s in my bedroom.” Misa answered quietly.

“Good.” L cleared his throat again and then placed his thumb to his lip as he began. “Now that we all know about the existence of the death note, I think it would be best if this secret was kept among us. In the meantime, I think we should keep the note hidden and out of reach from anyone who might use it.” He didn’t say it, but they all knew he meant Misa.

“I will retrieve the briefcase for special files from my office.” Watari said and L nodded.

“Yes, that will work.” No one bothered to explain the briefcase to Naomi with L already moving on to the next topic. Misa supposed she may have been eavesdropping earlier or maybe she could just tell the former agent about it later. “I have scheduled a friendly meeting with the prime Kira suspect for tomorrow. We will be playing tennis. As I keep him distracted, I would like you two to go through his room and search for his death note.” L said, directing his attention towards Naomi and Watari.

“What do you want me to do?” Misa asked.

“You will be coming to the university in your regular disguise. We won’t be able to speak directly to each other, but I want to be able to see you at all times.” L answered, looking down at his hands again. So what he really meant was that he would be keeping his eye on her the whole time and making sure she didn’t put herself in danger again.

“What time is this tennis match occurring?” Naomi questioned.

“It’ll be at two in the afternoon. Watari will tell you the address. The suspect’s mother and sister should be out at that time as well.”

“Well, sounds like a lot to get ready for. I’ll just be going to get some equipment.” Naomi said as she stood up and made her way towards the exit.

“I’ll join you, if that’s quite alright, Miss Misora.” Watari said as he got to his feet as well.

“Of course, let’s go!” Naomi took the elder man’s arm and the two nearly ran out the door, leaving the couple alone in awkward silence. Rem too seemed to take a hint because Misa saw her flying by through the window.

Misa couldn’t handle the tension any longer and leapt to her feet only to jump on L and throw her arms around his neck. The detective let his legs fall down just in time so that she landed in his lap. She buried her face in his shoulder and hugged him tightly as she cried out, “I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I hurt you and that I didn’t tell you about the death note sooner and that I made the eye deal. I’m really sorry, L.”

To her surprise, L returned her hug, holding her just as tightly to him. “Misa, I…” He didn’t seem to know what to say though and shook his head. Instead, he tilted her head up to his and captured her lips in a slow kiss. He kissed her for a long while before finally releasing her.

“Does this mean you forgive me?” She whispered against his lips. L didn’t answer, just kissed her again, and harder this time. He slipped his tongue inside her mouth and kissed her long and hard until she was panting for air. Then he slid his hands under her thighs and hoisted her up as he got off the chair and she wrapped her legs around him as he carried her off to her bedroom.

They made out all the way to her bedroom until he softly placed her on her bed. He climbed on top of her, kissing slowly down her neck to her collarbone, pulling her tank top down to expose more skin.

“L…” She whimpered. He caught her lips once again as he began to undress her, first shoving down her skirt and tights. He released her only to remove her top and began fiddling with her bra. When he finally got it off, his hands cupped her breasts and gently massaged them.

“L-”

“No talking.” He whispered, kissing her again. She didn’t understand why he didn’t want her to say anything, but she tried to ignore the worrying voice in her head and let herself just be in the moment. And it was a good moment, L pinched her nipples and made her squeak before trailing his lips down her body to suck on them. As he kissed and sucked every inch of her skin, his hand entered her panties and gently massaged the hood of her clitoris as he inserted two fingers inside of her.

The friction was good, but it wasn’t enough, and Misa quickly started bucking up into his maddeningly slow and gentle touch. L didn’t speed up his pace though, just continued to lazily finger her and drive her mad.

“L-”

“Shhh. No rushing.” L shushed. He kissed his way back up to her lips, taking his time with it. Misa couldn’t stand it, she wanted him to hurry up and fuck her, but the man didn’t seem to be in any kind of rush, enjoying the gradual flow.

He continued to build things up slowly, finally inserting a third finger and rubbing her clit just the way she wanted him to, but he took his sweet time with it all. His eyes were scanning her face, taking everything in, and Misa felt self-conscious under the scrutiny. She liked teasing him and talking and laughing during sex, but this was all so much more intense, and too fucking slow.

Every time she rushed things by grinding into his hand faster, L would slow down. Every time she tried to say something, he cut her off with a kiss. It was driving her insane, but the way his lips continued to glide against her skin and the way he teased her towards the edge and left her dangling there without fulling falling over felt kind of nice.

When he removed his hand, he slowly peeled off his own clothes one by one and then placed himself at her entrance. She thought she’d finally be getting the wild passion she desperately desired, but once again L kept up his unhurried pace. He rocked into her in a slow and steady rhythm, kissing her all the while until she was sure her lips would be bruised. She tried bucking up into him again, but nothing would make the man go any faster. She threw her arms around his neck and held onto him tightly, digging her nails into his back just a bit as she whimpered.

“Misa,” He groaned as his lips slipped down to her ear and sucked on the lobe. “Soon.”

Slowly, so painstakingly slow, L started to increase his pace, fucking into her with long, hard thrusts. She was a moaning and whimpering mess beneath him, just wanting to finally fall over that edge into a blissful existence. L turned her face to his and watched her as his hips began to work against hers more frantically. They said nothing as they clung to each other, looking into each other’s eyes as they approached that climax together.

And then finally, finally they were there. Misa threw her head back as she cried out, but L’s eyes never left her face as he came deep inside her. As the aftershocks washed over her, she kissed his face desperately. “I love you.” She whispered. “I love you.”

L didn’t say anything back, but he held onto her tighter and buried his face in her neck, and despite how wonderful everything just felt, she wondered if they weren’t that okay after all.

.

L had left for a meeting with his task force, but returned later that night. Misa had wondered if he would continue the nightly visits after everything that happened, so when he showed up at the normal hour, she rushed in to hug him.

While he was away at work, Naomi had returned from gathering her needed equipment, and the two ladies talked about the man’s earlier behavior. Naomi insisted that L was just afraid of losing her and still hurt by the eye deal, but there was no way he would break up with her over it. Misa on the other hand was completely stressed by her boyfriend’s lack of communication and knew they’d need to have a talk when she saw him again. As the hours had gone by, Misa had convinced herself that L would never want to see her again, so she was a little more affectionate than usual when he came back to the apartment that night, or at least more comfortable with PDA than usual.

L did nothing to deter her advances and let her cling to him, kiss on him, and sit on his lap in front of the others as they continued to talk about their plans for the next day to ensure nothing would go wrong. When the others retired for the night, Misa practically dragged the detective into her bedroom, asking Rem for some space so the two could talk.

Once they were alone in her room, Misa got to the point immediately. “You’re still upset with me.”

“Yes.”

“What can I do to make it better?” She whispered as she sat down beside him.

“I don’t know.”

“No, don’t do that. I need you to talk to me, L. I need you to tell me about your feelings.” She held his hand as she encouraged.

L took in a deep breath and looked away from her. “I’m scared. I’m scared that any moment with you could be the last.”

“I’m sorry.” She rested her head on his shoulder and gave his hand a squeeze. She wasn’t sure what else she could say as Rem couldn’t tell her what her new lifespan was. She honestly didn’t really think about how much time she had left, but she assumed it was quite a bit with how long Shinigami lived. Even if she didn’t have long, she was comfortable with living each day as if it could be the last, but she doubted that saying that would comfort L.

“Part of me wants to never see you again so I never have to watch you die.” L confessed.

Misa swallowed thickly, it was tough to hear, but she was glad he was being honest with her. “And the other part?”

“The other part wants to spend every second of every day with you so we don’t waste any time.”

“I think I like the other part better.” Misa said with a small smile. A large part of her wanted the two of them to run away right now, to hell with Kira. They could just go live on an island together out in the middle of the ocean, away from all the troubles of the world. L would never agree to that though.

“I wish I could piece together exactly when you are going to die so I can prepare for it.” L sighed.

“But no one really knows exactly when they’ll die.”

“I know.” L slowly turned his face back to hers and lifted her hand that he was still holding to his lips to plant a soft kiss.

Misa kissed him on the cheek before resting on his shoulder again. “I don’t know what I can say to make any of this better, and I’m really sorry that I hurt you, but shouldn’t we just enjoy these moments we have together now?”

“Yes.” He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and she let a genuine smile grace her lips. It wasn’t the best it could be, but it felt like they were headed in the right direction.

“I love you, L. So much.” She said. And she really meant it, with all her heart. She wasn’t sure she would ever love anyone again as much as she loved him.

“I… I really care about you, Misa. So much.” He whispered. And though he didn’t say it out loud and she wasn’t sure when, if ever, he’d be ready to say it, she knew deep down he loved her too. She realized it the moment he broke the other night, and she knew he didn’t have to say it for her to feel it. And in that moment, just holding hands on her bed in the quiet night, she felt it more than ever before.

.

April 7, 2004

Misa joined the crowd gathering around the tennis court, keeping herself slightly hidden behind her ‘classmates.’ She knew L would want to be able to spot her, but she shouldn’t make herself too obvious for Light to see. The two had already agreed that if Light were to spot her and approach her, she should deny anything from the other day and completely ignore L. Still, it wasn’t a bad idea for Kyoko, Light’s supposed fan, to watch him play tennis. She just couldn’t acknowledge L in any way or else Light might catch on that the two know each other.

If Light were to approach her, she’d just pretend she found a tutor and really was only looking for someone to share classroom notes with. She wouldn’t make any mention of the eyes again and she already had Rem hiding behind a building just a ways off. Hopefully, Light wouldn’t notice her at all and would just be distracted by the intensity of the tennis match. In the worst-case scenario, Misa knew Rem would kill Light immediately if he made any threat against her life. Still, Misa didn’t want the Shinigami to make that kind of move for her, she liked having Rem around.

In all honesty, Misa wasn’t a fan of sports. She never really bothered to watch them before and never learned any of the rules. She knew that her dad had been a bit of a tennis fan and even used to play with his buddies every now and then, but her family didn’t care much for any other sports. On a couple of occasions, Misa had tried to sit down and watch the game with her father, but she often found it too boring and left.

However, watching it up close and in person was an entirely different experience. Unlike watching it on the tv, she could feel the intensity watching L face off against Light. The fact that the two were so talented made it all the more interesting. Misa really couldn’t tell who was going to win the game, and with what little understanding of it that she had, it seemed they were tied.

Neither L nor Light spoke in between matches, their entire focus just on the ball and winning the game. It felt almost like she was watching a duel between the two. While normal people played the game with a carefree spirit, L and Light seemed to be analyzing each other’s every move. She wasn’t surprised to see that L was so competitive, but she had expected Light to throw the game in some attempt to lessen the suspicion placed on him. However, it seemed like the teen was putting his all into it, just as determined to win as L was.

The crowd of students around her kept cheering on one or the other, some even breaking out into arguments and betting on who would win. While Misa outwardly cheered for Light with the other girls, on the inside she was cheering for L and hoping he would win. Another secret part of her was also thinking about how hot the guys looked facing off against each other and sweating as they put all their energy into the game. Even still just in his normal white shirt and jeans, L looked insanely attractive to her in his competitive mode.

With a final powerful swing, L knocked the ball across the court too fast for Light to catch it, winning the game. All of the male students watching cheered as the female students sulked over the victory. Misa tried to pout alongside the others, but she was so excited over L’s big win. She wanted to drag him off for victory sex.

In all of the excitement, Misa hadn’t even noticed that something had changed with Light’s appearance. She didn’t notice it at all until after he shook hands with L and went back to his bag to grab a water bottle. As he got his things, he had suddenly approached her, a friendly smile on his face.

“Sato Kyoko, right?”

“Oh, yep! That’s me! Hi Light! Good game!” She cheered, but paused as she noticed something off about the glowing red letters above his head.

“I’m sorry I was in a bit of a rush the other day, and honestly a bit stressed out, but if you still need a tutor, I think I could make some time.” The teen offered.

Misa nodded her head slowly, but then remembered what she was supposed to say in this situation, and stumbled through the words, “Oh, right, I’ve already got a tutor, actually. But thank you for the offer!”

The red letters above his head. She couldn’t just see his name, but also a lifespan. He wasn’t supposed to have a lifespan if he was Kira, but right now as he stood before her, there was a lifespan over his head. Why was there a lifespan? Had she been wrong before? Had she just not noticed it in the crowd? But didn’t Rem say she saw Ryuk that day? Oh God, Misa almost wrote his name in the death note…

“Kyoko, are you okay? You look really pale.” Light said as he reached into his bag for another water bottle. “Maybe you should drink some water.”

“Th-that’s alright, I just need to-” Misa backed away slowly, but the stress was making her vision spin, and before she knew it, she was falling over.

“Kyoko!”

The last thing Misa heard was Light shouting as her vision went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a shorter chapter, but the next one should be longer. 
> 
> I'm headed into finals soon, so my update schedule might be a little bit different for awhile. I'll try to update when I can, but my main focus will be on my finals and my papers. I'll be done by December 15th, so I'll probably update more over the holidays. 
> 
> I've made some changes to my outline, but I'm still thinking that the story will be around 30 chapters with an epilogue. 
> 
> Thank you as always for reading!
> 
> Edit: Hit 69 kudos hehe nice


	16. A Second Kira

Chapter 16

April 7, 2004

For a split second, L’s heart stopped beating as he watched Misa fall backwards. It was almost as if time had frozen around them and he was just watching her fall in slow motion. He tried not to let the horror show on his face. Light was right there watching them, and L would be damned if the younger man found out about their relationship now. And yet, L couldn’t stop himself from rushing forward to catch Misa before she hit the ground.

Once the model was in his arms, he discreetly checked for a pulse, and finding the steady drum under his fingers, he was finally able to relax just a bit. Misa’s wig had managed to stay on her head despite her sudden fainting spell, so she still looked like Kyoko to everyone else. A crowd had gathered around them to see what happened to the girl, but luckily her true identity was still a secret, otherwise the crowd likely would have been much worse.

Misa’s okay though. She’s okay.

“Ryuga, should we take her to the infirmary?” Light’s voice cut in.

L nodded and he began to rise slowly, carefully picking Misa up. “Yes, that sounds like a good plan.”

“Do you need help carrying her?” Light asked.

“That’s alright.” L answered. He didn’t want Light to see how strong he was, not yet at least, but there wasn’t a chance in hell he would let anyone else carry Misa, especially not his prime suspect for the Kira case.

L followed the teenager off to the infirmary while the crowd gossiped about what had just occurred. It seemed that the others suspected that Kyoko had “fallen for Light,” unable to handle the star student’s attention. Light was already quite popular at the college, and L’s surveillance of him in the past showed that he was popular with the ladies especially. L sincerely hoped the teen wasn’t going to try to seduce Misa. He was only worried about her safety, of course.

The faster he got Light away from Misa, the better. Unfortunately, that meant he would have to ditch her here, but Rem should be nearby and could look after her, if he really could trust the Shinigami. Perhaps he’d send a quick message to Naomi, just in case.

When they finally arrived at the infirmary, L carefully set Misa on a bed as a nurse promised to look after her. While Light told the nurse what had happened, L subtly messaged Naomi about the situation, and then turned back to the younger man to ask if he was ready to head out. They had agreed to have a late lunch after the tennis match, so it wouldn’t be suspicious for L to ask if they could leave. He didn’t want to stay too long; it was getting hard not to look at Misa and check on her. If he looked at her, it would be impossible to leave her side.

“Are you sure we shouldn’t stay with Kyoko, so that she has some friends by her side?” Light questioned.

“Friends?”

“Yeah, we’re friends, aren’t we, Ryuga?”

“I suppose so, I’ve never had a friend before.” L responded. He watched as Light appeared to be shocked by this revelation. Light often faked reactions around other people, but this one seemed genuine.

“Well, all the more reason to stay. You can become friends with Kyoko too.” Light said as he took a seat.

L chewed at his thumb as he tried to think of a way to get them out of there before Misa woke back up. “I don’t know. Women don’t usually like me.”

“That doesn’t surprise me, you’re pretty odd, Ryuga.” Light laughed. He looked back at Misa and his face became more serious. “Kyoko seems really friendly though. Cute, too, underneath the glasses. Who knows? Maybe you’re her type.”

“I’m her type? What makes you say that?” L asked, wondering just how much Light had picked up on.

“Oh? You didn’t notice? She was the only chick who was watching you during the game. I heard her cheering for me with the others, but she kept looking at you. I bet she thinks you’re cute.” Light looked relaxed as he stretched out on his chair, hands settled behind his head.

Dammit. Light had already noticed that much, and he didn’t look like he was ready to leave any time soon. They really needed to get out of here. L wasn’t sure they’d be able to hide much if Misa woke up. While Misa was smart, she could be impulsive at times, and if she saw L first, she’d likely say or do something that gave away more of a relationship between the two of them.

“Come on, sit down Ryuga. Let’s chat. I don’t know much about you besides that you’re good at tennis and lived in England for a while.” Light said, breaking L’s train of thought. Misa was still out of it, maybe he could start the second part of his plan and test Light on how much he knew about the Kira case here. It was risky, but he might be able to learn enough about the star student to give him the upper hand, and if he continued to push for them to leave, Light would get suspicious.

“What do you want to know?” L asked as he sat next to him. Light raised an eyebrow at L’s weird way of sitting but said nothing about it.

“Well, to be completely honest, I want to ask you about the other day. You really caught me off guard.” Light looked around before he said the next part, checking to make sure the nurse nearby was busy and not listening in to their conversation. “Why did you trust me enough to tell me such a huge secret? Do you really think I could help on the Kira case?”

Light was very good at feigning innocence, acting as if he had no idea why L would approach him. Perhaps L should toy with that. “Well Yagami-kun, why do you think I told you?”

Light thought for a moment before he replied, “It kind of made me think that maybe you suspected me of being Kira.”

Ah, so Kira isn’t afraid to call him out or call attention to their situation. Smart. Or maybe just cocky. “That is correct.”

“What, really?” Light sat upright, surprised by this admission. He was either a truly impressive actor, or he really didn’t think there was any reason for L to suspect him.

“The chance of you being Kira is only one percent, but nevertheless, I must be absolutely sure you are not him before I invite you onto the Kira case.”

Before Light could sat anything else, they heard heavy footsteps walking towards them. L turned towards the noise and spotted Naomi walking down the hall, looking for Misa. He had forgotten he even messaged her.

“Hi, my name is Shoko Maki. I’m here for my roommate, Sato Kyoko. Is she alright?” She said to the nurse outside the room.

“Oh yes, it seems like Sato-san just had a fainting spell, but she should be back up soon.” The nurse replied, leading Naomi into the room.

Light immediately got to his feet when Naomi entered the room. “Hi there, I’m Light Yagami. This here is Hideki Ryuga.” Light introduced, pointing to L sitting on his chair. “We were just here looking out for Kyoko. It was pretty scary when she fainted.”

“Oh, hello.” Naomi replied, looking a little caught off guard, but she masked it well. “Thank you for looking out for Sato-san, but I can take it from here.”

“Alright, well keep us updated. I hope Kyoko feels better soon.” Light said as he collected his things. As L followed suit, he whispered to the man, “You should get her number.”

“That doesn’t seem appropriate, given the situation.” L responded.

“Ha ha, yeah you’re right, Ryuga.”

As they left the building, it took all of L’s strength not to turn back around. He needed to know what happened to Misa, but he couldn’t let Light out of his sight right now either. The case needed to be his main priority; besides, Misa was fine.

.

When Misa woke up, she felt groggy and strange. She must not have slept for very long, but the bed she was on was quite uncomfortable, and unfamiliar. As she looked around, she noticed Naomi sitting on a chair nearby, but everything else was bleak looking. It almost looked like a doctor’s office… Was that where she was?

“Kyoko, you’re awake!” Naomi said as she got up from her chair.

‘ _Oh, right, I’m still undercover_ ,’ Misa thought to herself.

“Hi… Maki… what happened?” She asked, taking awhile to remember Naomi’s fake name. Man, the last thing she remembered was seeing Light and how he… had a lifespan.

“Light!” Misa called out accidentally, but Naomi shushed her.

“Yes, Light was here and made sure you were okay. You fainted earlier, but you’re okay now, so let’s go back to the apartment.” Naomi said.

Misa nodded and slowly got to her feet, noticing that Rem was there too, standing in the corner. She tried not to react too much to the god of death, not wanting the nurse to think she was crazy. Naomi helped her out the door and took her to her car. Misa had so many questions, but she knew it would be better to ask them once they were safe at home.

As they walked towards the car, a few ‘classmates’ approached Misa to ask her if she was okay and if her fainting was just a reaction to Light. She laughed, acknowledging that he was cute and had stunned her by talking to her directly. If her fellow students thought she had a crush on Light, then oh well. It didn’t seem like a big deal to her.

Misa offered to drive when they finally arrived at her car, but Naomi drove for her. Rem flew nearby, looking upset, but not saying a word. The atmosphere felt tense and Misa wondered if the other two had strange experiences this afternoon as well.

A small part of Misa wanted to see Light again just to make sure his lifespan wasn’t actually there. After all, he was L’s main suspect and there was no way L was wrong. L was never wrong. If he was wrong, that would mean they were chasing after the wrong guy and that Misa almost killed an innocent man. The thought made her feel sick to her stomach. God, she hoped they weren’t wrong.

As they entered the apartment, Misa couldn’t contain herself any longer. “When I saw Light today, he had a lifespan.”

Naomi sighed as she flopped down on one of their couches. “Yeah, Watari and I searched his place today for a death note and came up with nothing.”

“Ryuk was not at the tennis match either.” Rem added in.

Misa sat down as well, holding her head in her hands. “I’m so confused. So it’s not him?”

“He’s who L suspects most though and when I spoke to him today, he seemed a little off, but there’s no evidence.” Naomi replied.

“When I saw him a few days ago, he didn’t have a lifespan. I mean we were in a crowd so maybe I just didn’t notice it, but it wasn’t there. And you saw Ryuk next to him, didn’t you, Rem?”

“Yes, Ryuk was there.” The Shinigami answered vaguely. She couldn’t directly confirm to Misa that Light was Kira even if she wanted to.

“I guess Ryuk could have been following someone else, but Light really seemed to be reacting to what I was saying that day. It was like L had already thrown him off balance and I gave the final push. I was so sure we were about to catch Kira.” Misa shook her head, none of this made any sense. It had to be Light, right?

“There is one thing I forgot to tell you about the death note.” Rem stated. “At any time, you can give up ownership of the note and lose all of your memories tied to the note.”

Naomi immediately sat upright. “So he can literally get rid of all the evidence of his crimes at any time?”

“We’re so fucked.” Misa whined. So it could be Light after all, but there would be no evidence and he wouldn’t even remember being Kira. What could they even do now? He’s literally getting away with murder, but at least that would mean no more deaths, right?

.

That night, Watari and L returned to their apartment, both with grim looks on their faces. The moment L had found Misa, he had pulled her into a tight hug, which she happily returned. It wasn’t like him to show affection so publicly, but he must have been really worried about her.

After a moment, they joined the others in the living room to discuss what had happened, with Misa sitting on the arm of L’s chair and the others sitting on the couches. It was almost strange to see Rem sit, but Misa guessed that even the god of death got tired of standing every now and then.

L asked Misa about what happened first, his attention solely focused on her. “Well, when I saw Light, he had a lifespan and I sorta freaked out about it, so I fainted.”

“I was worried that… maybe he had written your name down.” L chewed on his thumb and addressed Rem. “Is it possible that he has written her name down and is controlling her right now?”

“No, I would know if Misa’s name was written down and I would have killed him.” Rem replied. It was a bit comforting to know that Rem could always tell if her lifespan was messed with and would exact revenge for her, but at the same time she felt bad for the Shinigami. Rem was willing to do so much for her, but there was nothing she could do for the god of death besides bring her apples.

“That is… good to know.” L said. He gathered his thoughts together before he continued speaking. “I already know from Watari that the team came up with nothing while searching Light’s place for the death note. To make matters worse, today Chief Yagami had a heart attack, but luckily he survived. My interactions with Light showed he matched the profile and deductive ability I suspected of Kira, but his encounter with his father made it seem like he was not Kira. He was quite distressed to see his father’s condition, and he became angry with me for saying he and his sister fit the profile of Kira in front of his father. He even offered to let me lock him up for a month to prove his innocence. To go to such lengths to prove your innocence is absurd, but with Kira being able to control time of death, maybe it is not so odd after all.”

“The fact that is father survived is rather odd too. That means it couldn’t have been Kira. We know that whoever’s name is written in the death note WILL die.” Naomi stressed.

“Yes, the doctors said it was due to being overworked. It is likely also due to the emotional strain of having his son as a suspect.” L replied.

“Poor Chief Yagami.” Misa sighed. It must be difficult to have a son like Light. It sounded like the man worked very hard too, and from the way L spoke, it seemed like he deemed him the only competent member of the task force.

“I am keeping him from work until he has fully recovered.” L said, reaching up to trace small circles against Misa’s back. She smiled at him, happy to hear that he cared about the man’s health.

“There’s something else you should know too, Rem just told us.” Naomi said. “Apparently you can give up ownership of the death note, which causes you to lose all memories of using it.”

L’s eyes widened at this information, and then he went back to biting his thumb. “So, if Light Yagami is Kira after all, he would not even remember being Kira.”

“If he’s not currently acting as Kira and we have no way to prove that he is Kira, is there anything we can really do?” Misa asked.

The room fell silent as the others considered this. What was left for them to do? They had hit a dead end.

Suddenly, L’s phone began to ring, and he quickly answered it. “Yes? … I see.” He turned to Naomi. “Turn on the news.”

Naomi grabbed the remote and they all watched as three new faces appeared on the screen. Three new deaths. What was strange was that none of them appeared to be criminals, but rather, they were three completely random individuals. One was an old woman, another a middle aged man, and the last a teenage girl.

“Yes, I’m watching it now. … And you’re sure their faces have never been shown in any news outlets? … Very well. I’ll get back to you shortly.” L hung up and stood from his chair, beginning to pace around the room.

“What… what was that about?” Misa questioned, feeling fearful. If Light had given up the death note, then how were their new deaths? And why were they so random?

“The three individuals who died today have never had their faces shown on tv, the internet, or any newspapers. This implies that the person who killed them only killed them with the knowledge of their face, no name needed. Up until now, Kira has needed both a face and a name to kill, but this new pattern does not fit the Kira we know. The task force believes that there is now a Second Kira.” L said, still pacing the room as he did so.

“A Second Kira? Who could that be?” Misa wondered, but all eyes in the room turned to her as if they had all already figured something out that she hadn’t. “What… what is it?”

“Misa, Light is trying to frame you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me so long to update! And sorry this chapter is shorter than usual! I got really busy with finals and then family, but I should be able to update more regularly now that I'm on break. I will try to get the next chapter out soon! 
> 
> Shoko Maki is the fake name Naomi used on Light in the manga.   
> The one percent thing is also something L said to Light in the manga. 
> 
> From this point forward, I am no longer sticking to canon, but there will be some canon elements still applied to the story. 
> 
> Thanks as always for reading!


	17. Just What Is Kira Up To

Chapter 17

April 7, 2004

“Light is trying to frame you, or actually your persona Kyoko to be exact.” L clarified. He resumed his pacing as he tried to think about what Kira was up to.

Up until now, Kira has only killed criminals and the people who stood directly in his way. He has a God complex and believes he is doing what is right to build a better world, and therefore justifies killing innocents because they are standing in the way of the ‘greater good.’ With all of that in mind… Why would Kira suddenly kill three seemingly innocent individuals who were not pursuing him? It doesn’t make sense with his previous pattern or his profile.

It would make more sense for this to be the work of a new Kira, however, the only other person who owns a death note is Misa. He knows Misa hasn’t used it because he saw to it that Watari would lock it away. Besides, if Misa were to write anyone’s name down, it would be Light’s. The only thing that would lead Misa to commit murder is revenge, and she does not know these victims, which is clear given her shock at their deaths. Misa is a very talented actress, but she isn’t good at lying. Unless she has somehow managed to completely fabricate every aspect of her life to manipulate him for the past year, he is certain she has nothing to do with this.

But maybe she inspired Kira to change things up. Being approached by L himself and then by another owner of the death note must have been overwhelming for Light. Even though the two of them have never been seen together by Light, he must have connected the dots anyway and figured out they were working together. It was too coincidental to be approached by them both on the same day in the same place and even at the same hour. That would mean Kira figured out that L had not only Misa on his side, but the death note as well, as Misa had made it clear to the mass murderer that she owned one when she approached him. Once more, Misa is even more powerful than him because she has the eyes. Even if he hadn’t deduced that Misa was working with L, at the very least he still sees her as a threat.

Being approached by two possible enemies, one with the power to lock him up and the other with the power to kill him, must have made Kira panic. He had to figure out a way to clear his name in case L ever came across the death note and learned of its power. He had hit a dead end, so his Shinigami must have informed him of the ability to give up ownership to save him. L didn’t know much about the gods of death, but if this Ryuk was as loyal to Light as Rem was to Misa, it could spell trouble. Having a loyal Shinigami would give you access to all kinds of power. Misa may not have realized it yet, but she’s the most powerful player in this whole game. Light must have realized it himself, which is why he has made her his target and the one he will pin all the blame on.

Still, to give up the power of the death note was quite a risk for Kira to take. He wouldn’t have taken it if he didn’t know he could somehow get it back… right? Was there a way for him to choose who could own the death note after him? Does he have a pawn working for him now to act as the Second Kira? In the meantime, the amnesiac version of himself tries to clear his own name and find the new Kira? Giving someone else the power to kill is a bold move, and one that could lead to his downfall. He would need to make sure it was someone he trusted to do exactly as he ordered… or he would need it to be someone he could easily catch…

That is, of course, if the assumption he gave up ownership of the note is correct. It is entirely possible that Light is putting on an act right now while keeping the death note hidden in some unknown location that only he can access. It might be wise to follow his movements over the next few days to see if he has buried the death note somewhere or stored it in a lockbox of some kind. Light is, unfortunately, both a good actor and a spectacular liar. Even if the shows he puts on are a bit corny, there’s something to them that also seems real, like this is how he’s always interacted with others. Perhaps Light has always had trouble connecting with others and puts on these acts to seem normal. It seems likely.

L sat back down in his chair and inhaled slowly. The others are expecting orders from him; he has a job to do. He exhaled shakily. Misa is being targeted; he can’t lose her.

“Light knows he is a suspect of the Kira case as I informed him this afternoon. He would be expecting the task force to tail him, but not a woman he met once. Naomi, I would like you to tail Light over the next few days and report all his movements back to me. I will also be assigning a member of the task force to tail him, so please do your best not to be seen by either man.”

“I’m on it. What’s the name of the cop who will be following him?” Naomi asked.

“Mogi. I will provide you with a solid description of him later.” L turned to address Watari next, finding his caretaker ready for his next order as always. “Watari, I would like you to order the task force to collect all surveillance tapes around the city and of any public transportation. I want all footage to be reviewed, specifically looking for any sightings for the three individuals who were killed today and who they might have run into. If there are any sightings of Light specifically, I want that footage handed over to me directly.”

“Of course, Master L.” Watari said.

Now, what to do with Misa? Right now, he doubts anyone has figured out she is Kyoko. The disguise is legitimately good. Everyone associates the model Misa Amane with blonde hair, blue eyes, the signature pigtails, and Gothic Lolita clothing. Kyoko dresses in a schoolgirl uniform, has short black hair, brown eyes, and glasses. Misa regularly goes out with her makeup masterfully done, whereas when she’s Kyoko she doesn’t wear any at all. She’s also done an excellent job at keeping her personal life private despite her rising fame, so no one really knows what she does in her spare time. Anyone who knew her personally would recognize her by the eyes, but she started wearing the blue contacts so early in her career that most people assume that’s her true eye color. Besides, most people love Misa so much they would not give her away even if they figured out she was Kyoko. Outside of the people in this room, the only real worry would be her sister, but she lives a few hours away.

It would be suspicious for Kyoko to disappear completely. It would also be suspicious for her to only show up around L. L doesn’t know if Kira has truly caught on to the connection between them, so it may be best to keep them separate for now. Perhaps he should have Misa continue to show up at the college as Kyoko every now and then to appear normal. However, she then runs the risk of running into Light more often. Light is a charming guy; he could try to befriend her and somehow get her to slip up and reveal something to him. If he has truly lost his memories attached to the death note, then how much does he know and remember of Kyoko? At the very least, he remembered her name and that she approached him at orientation.

“Rem, how much would Light remember of Misa if he gave up ownership of the death note?” L finally asked.

“He will not remember anything about the death note. But he will remember her fake name, their conversation, and any feelings he had towards her.” Rem answered.

“In that case, he will likely remember that he found her suspicious.” L sighed. So, with the idea of a Second Kira being out there, Light will likely focus on Misa, even if his memories are truly lost. He could influence the task force to investigate her, which could lead to her true identity being revealed. There are already members of the task force who do not trust L entirely and the reveal that he has others working behind the scenes might be the straw that breaks the camel’s back for some of them. There is one member he trusts to do the right thing no matter what though…

“Very well. Misa, I would like you to continue to appear as Kyoko at the college intermittently. I want you to always have your belt on you in case Light approaches you. You should wear an earpiece and wire as well so we can listen in if he approaches you and tell you what to say.”

“Oh... okay. Well, wouldn’t it be easier if I gave up ownership of the death note as well? I mean, I’m just thinking that if he suspects me and is trying to frame me, shouldn’t I get rid of anything that could connect me to the case?” Misa asked hesitantly.

“That… well, you would also lose your memories.” L reminded her.

“Yeah, but only the ones connected to the death note, so would it really be that bad? I mean, this way we can ensure I don’t slip up and tell him something I’m not supposed to.” She was always worried about messing up. He wished she had more confidence in herself. Besides, could they really trust the Shinigami saying that only memories tied to the note would be affected? Losing any memories at all would have to affect her mentality, wouldn’t it? How much would she really forget?

“We would be helping you every step of the way.” He argued.

“Besides, if you give up the death note, then the eye deal will have been for nothing, right? You’ll forget all the names you saw. You’ll forget that Light is Kira. And would we even be able to keep the death note?” Naomi interjected.

“If you give up ownership of the death note, you also lose the eyes.” Rem said. “But no one owns that death note with Gelus gone. It could stay here in the human world. The ownership would go to whoever wrote in it next.”

“Best kept out of sight, then.” Watari said.

“Well, even if I lose the eyes and forget about Light, it won’t matter. You guys can just tell me it’s Light and I’ll believe you.” Misa said.

“What if Kira was planning for this the whole time? What if his true goal in giving up ownership was to get you to give up yours?” L questioned. It was possible. Misa was a threat to Kira, and he wanted to remove her one way or another.

“I don’t care what Kira’s plan was. I care about what’s going to help us win and not being arrested as Kira. If that means I should give up ownership too, then I will.” Misa stood up now, not backing down from her position. “Besides, don’t forget that I know your name now. It would be better for me to lose that memory so Light doesn’t try to trick me into giving it to him or something.”

She was right. A small, ridiculous part of him wanted to hear her call him by his real name once, even though it was dangerous and stupid, but ultimately, she was right. Light was too smart, and they had underestimated him before.

“Okay.”

“Okay? You think I’m right? I should give up ownership?” She questioned.

“Yes.”

“Are you sure? You seem uncertain.” Misa said as she examined his face. She’s gotten way too good at reading him despite his lack of expressions.

“I just don’t want Light to manipulate you. I don’t want this to be a trap.” L admitted. He should care more about what’s best for the case, but really his top concern is Misa. It’s been like that for quite some time and he’s not sure he’ll ever be able to make the case his top priority again as long as Misa is around it.

“Don’t worry about me. We’ll get through it together, right?” Misa said as she sat back down on the arm of his chair and lightly placed a hand on his cheek. He leaned into its warmth and sighed.

“Yes.”

“Don’t worry so much about Light. I’m sure even without my memories I’ll hate him and avoid him. He’s super stuck up.” Misa said while making a face.

He chuckled. “Yes, I’m not too worried about you leaving me for a criminal.”

“Welllll, I don’t know about that…” Misa said dramatically. “I mean, Wedy is pretty hot.”

“She is.” Naomi agreed.

“Is it the catsuit or the motorbike?” L asked, playing along.

“Hmmm.” Misa brought her thumb to her lips in an imitation of him as she thought to herself. “Could really be either, so you should probably get both just to really make sure you can keep me by your side.”

“Watari, see to it that I get a form fitting catsuit and a motorcycle.”

“Of course.” The old man said with a small smile on his face.

They were all smiling and laughing, but really, they were just delaying the inevitable. Unfortunately, moments like this couldn’t last very long, they had work to do.

“Okay. Okay. So how do I do this Rem?” Misa asked as she turned to face the god of death. “Do I need to be holding it or anything?”

“No. You can simply say I relinquish ownership of the death note.” Rem said.

“Okay then. I relinquish ownership of the death note.”

.

April 8, 2004

“Ryuzaki? I didn’t expect to see you back here so soon. Is everything alright with the case?” Soichiro asked.

“Actually, I am here to ask a favor of you Chief Yagami.” The eccentric detective said as she sat down in a chair by the hospital bed.

The Chief was often surprised by the young man’s actions, and today was no different. He looked serious, but then again, L always looked serious. No, it was more like he was letting his guard down for once, something he never seemed to do in front of the task force. This must be really serious.

“Of course, Ryuzaki. Anything you need.”

“I am taking a big risk today, but I trust you to do the right thing, so please keep everything that is said here today between us a secret. Do not tell the other members of the task force, and do not tell Light.” L’s eyes looked even wider than usual. He was desperate. It was strange to see such emotion on the young man’s face.

Soichiro had often wondered what L’s background really was. He looked like a teenager, maybe Light’s age, but he seemed older. Did he have any family? Did he have a woman in his life? What did he do besides solve cases? Or was that all he ever did? Soichiro never imagined he would get any answers to these questions, but it seemed that life was always full of surprises.

“I understand, Ryuzaki.”

.

April 9, 2004

“There were another three deaths today. I guess you already know that… just what is Kira up to?” Misa questioned as L walked in. She was still sitting on the couch in front of the tv in her school outfit, but she had removed the wig and glasses. Her earpiece and wire were also now laying on the coffee table, though he knew they hadn’t been used today.

“Just as yesterday, and just as there will likely be tomorrow.” L sighed. He took his seat next to her and threw his arm around her. She melted into his side and he reached up to play with the ends of her hair as they sat there quietly.

“Did anything interesting happen at the college today?” He asked.

“No. I didn’t run into Light or anything. I did hear a rumor going around that he might be involved with someone called Kiyomi Takada. Apparently, she’s a very big deal, Miss To-Oh.” Misa replied.

“Interesting. I’ll have the others look into it.” L mentally made a note of that. It was the end of the day and he was very tired. He’d been staring at footage of Light and the victims who died the past two days for nearly twelve hours. All he found was that the older woman who died the first day seemed to run into someone wearing a hood at one point before entering the subway. Whoever that person was, they were likely Kira. He couldn’t tell for sure if it was Light, and there was no other footage of the mysterious hooded figure, but he was certain that Kira was directly approaching these victims and learning their names in his interactions with them.

It seemed likely that Kira had approached everyone on the same day and was now spacing out their deaths as he had done before. Naomi had confirmed that over the past two days, Light had only gone to his classes, gone home, and hung out with his friends. The footage of the hooded figure was from the 6th, that must have been when Light gathered everyone’s names, and then gave up ownership of the death note. L wasn’t certain how long these deaths would continue, but they’d need to continue to search for any footage of the hooded figure to see if he came in contact with any other victims. It wasn’t easy, lots of people wore hoods in public, and this person must have had knowledge of where all the cameras were located because he did not show his face once or get caught by them again.

What was Kira’s plan? Light had not said anything new to his father. L had suspected he would throw suspicion on Kyoko immediately, but her name has not come up once in their conversations according to the Chief. The task force was now fully convinced this was the work of a Second Kira who had the power to kill with only a face and would likely start asking about other suspicious figures aside from Light. Light was too clean, there was no evidence against him. L would have to direct the others to investigate other suspects soon. Perhaps this Takada could be one of them.

“Do you think she’s the Second Kira?” Misa asked. Had he been thinking out loud? Or had she just also been thinking the same things as him?

It was strange, Misa seemed much the same even with the lost memories. At first, she had been a bit confused about what she had just been doing, but then she quickly remembered she was secretly helping on the Kira investigation and that they were having a meeting. She remembered that she was going undercover as Kyoko and that she had another fake name she was telling people at work, which was Misaki. She even remembered that she helped L follow some people, she just couldn’t remember the names of who she was following. She didn’t remember that Light was Kira, but when L told her that was his primary suspect, she believed him immediately and decided Light was Kira because L thought so. It was a little worrying that she would believe him so quickly, but he supposed she had no reason to think that he would lie to her, or that Naomi and Watari would lie to her.

It was strange watching her completely ignore Rem, but of course she couldn’t see the Shinigami or remember that they were friends. She didn’t remember L’s name either, when he asked her who he was she just said ‘L.’ She didn’t know how Kira killed people, but she remembered she was for some reason under suspicion. She knew nothing of the death note, and the others quickly decided it was best not to remind her of it. She had been the one to suggest that she forget about it in the first place, and it was better to have less people know about its existence anyway.

Not knowing about the death note didn’t stop her from helping out though. She remembered her mission was to stay undercover as Kyoko and report any suspicious interactions she saw at the college, which she did very diligently while still going to her photoshoots in the morning as her regular self. He was honestly amazed at her ability to live a double life and have no one suspect her of anything. She was too innocent and kind for anyone to ever think she was up to something. Hopefully, the task force would not find her suspicious either.

She had not run into Light at all the past two days. She wasn’t even sure if he had showed up at the college. It was likely that he was spending a lot of time with his family, helping his father recover. It was better that he didn’t approach Misa anyway. She didn’t seem all that different or confused about things now, but L had a feeling that would change when she ran into Light again. Light would be too kind and perfect, and she would suddenly not understand why L suspected him just like the rest of the task force. Naomi told him to have more faith, said that Misa would always believe L no matter what, but it was hard to believe when he couldn’t convince anyone else that Light was Kira.

Wait, Misa had asked him something. What did she say? “I’m sorry, what did you ask me?”

“I asked if you thought maybe Kiyomi Takada was the Second Kira? Cuz the task force thinks there is a second one and Light is the first, so maybe it’s her?” Misa asked again.

“It’s possible. I’ll have the task force watch her movements as well.” L agreed.

“Well, who do you think is the Second Kira if it’s not her?”

“I’m not entirely convinced that there is a second one.” L admitted. “I think Light has changed up the pattern to make it seem like there is another Kira, when it’s really just him.”

“Weird. I don’t understand why he would do that. I mean I guess he was trying to frame me like you said, but I don’t get why.” Misa sighed as she buried herself into L’s side. She was tired too.

Misa also didn’t remember that Light had given up the death note because she didn’t know about the death note in the first place. She didn’t know that he did that because he saw her as a threat. She didn’t know how Light was trying to frame her. All she knew was that L knew these things and she believed L. If he were in her position, he’d be much more freaked out about everything, but she saw no reason to question anything she was told by him or Naomi.

Rem was still looking out for her too. Rem was tied to the death note, so she stayed close to where it was hidden, but she roamed around a bit to check on Misa and the others. She was mostly concerned with Misa’s safety and didn’t often speak to any of them. L got the feeling that the Shinigami did not like him, likely because of the danger he had put Misa in by being with her.

“He won’t succeed. We’ll catch him.” L said.

“Yeah. No one can beat L.” Misa yawned. She nuzzled her face against his chest, trying to get more comfortable. “I’m tired. Carry me to bed.”

He kissed her on the forehead and did just as she ordered.

.

April 14, 2004

“It’s been one week, Ryuzaki. Three deaths every single day and they don’t seem to be stopping any time soon.” Aizawa groaned. The man put his head in his hands, looking particularly frustrated.

“Yeah, and we haven’t gotten anything on Light or Kiyomi. They just go to school and go home and go on dates. It feels weird to still be watching them.” Matsuda added in.

“There hasn’t been any more footage of the mysterious hooded figure either.” Mogi said.

“What the hell are we even doing? Everyone’s lost faith in us and the Chief is still in recovery.” Aizawa shouted.

“I understand your frustrations. I was hoping we would unearth more evidence by this time, but unfortunately Kira remains elusive. The good news is that Light Yagami has agreed to join the task force once his father has fully recovered. Perhaps this new perspective will help us to find something we missed before.” L said. He didn’t want it to come to this, but he needed Light here to investigate him further.

Light hadn’t thrown suspicion on Kyoko yet nor had he approached her at school except for once to ask her if she had recovered from her fainting spell. He didn’t have any questions for her, nothing else to say. He seemed like just a normal teenager living his life. Misa hadn’t lost faith in L yet, but he was starting to lose it in himself. They hadn’t found any evidence that Light was Kira, any evidence of a pawn working for him now, or any trace of his death note. L was starting to feel crazy. Had he imagined the whole thing? Was he only suspicious of Light because the boy was too perfect? 

According to the notes Misa had taken when she asked Rem questions about the death note, Kira could only control deaths up to twenty-three days, unless he wrote in an illness for them to die from. That meant this could only keep happening for sixteen more days. Still, so many innocent lives had been lost already and there were more to come. The people had lost their faith in the task force with them not being able to stop Kira. The only bright side was that public opinion of Kira had gone down as well ever since innocent people started dying. However, online there were conspiracies that every new death was tied to underground crime. A few of the deaths had been family members of a few CEOs and people were convinced that they were involved in some white-collar crime. Perhaps those deaths should be investigated further.

What was even weirder was that no criminals had died in the last week. Light had only arranged for innocent people to die. Was he really that desperate to keep Kira alive that he would murder so many civilians? It didn’t seem like him. It was looking more like a new Kira had appeared after all.

“It’ll be good to have Light here. He really is a good guy and he’s helped on a case before.” Matsuda cut in.

“Well at least we can finally abandon him as a suspect.” Aizawa sighed. “What a waste.”

“It’s my turn to trade out with Ukita at the headquarters.” Mogi said as he got to his feet. “I’ll tell him to come here immediately so he can hear the news.”

“Of course.” L said.

These days felt longer and longer, and still nothing changed. L was almost looking forward to seeing Light again to at the very least switch things up.

.

April 21, 2004

One week later and the deaths still hadn’t stopped. However, the pattern of the deaths being linked to family members of CEOs continued. And after thirteen days of random civilians dying, criminals started to die once again. It was only noon, and already twenty criminals had been killed. The message was clear. Kira was back. But why now?

“The Chief is coming back today! And he’s bringing Light with him!” Matsuda shouted. He was almost like a lost puppy without his boss. He had spent the past two weeks sulking about how he wished the Chief were around. He would be entertaining to watch if he wasn’t so useless to the investigation.

“Yes, I’m aware.” L said dryly. The Chief had finally fully recovered and had called L the other day to ask if he should bring Light to the next meeting. L had agreed, at the very least hoping Light might finally say something about Kyoko so L could figure out what he was planning exactly, but now that criminals had started to die again, he really wanted to hear Light’s thoughts.

Misa had interacted with Light only twice in the last week. He helped her get a book that was on a high shelf in the library on the first day, and on the second day he had asked her what she thought of the Kira case. L thought this might finally go somewhere, but when Misa said she thought Kira was a crazy murderer who needed to be stopped, Light simply agreed and moved on. He didn’t even ask her who she thought it might be or anything else. Misa was surprised, but she still believed Light was Kira, unwilling to doubt L. Despite all the evidence she saw with her own eyes that were to the contrary, she still believed L no matter what. He wasn’t sure why she trusted him so much when he felt like he could no longer trust himself.

In all honesty, the last week had left him feeling pretty depressed. Even Misa’s baking didn’t cheer him up. He didn’t even want to show his face around the task force anymore. Part of him wanted to give up on the case, take Misa to some getaway island with him, and forget about everything. He knew he couldn’t do that though. L had never lost before, and he wasn’t about to start now.

When Light arrived with his father, he was dressed in his usual business casual manner, looking confident and ready to take on the world. He introduced himself to all the members of the task force, one by one, shaking their hands. L saw Aizawa shoot him a look that was probably meant to say, ‘You should act more like this.’

“It’s good to see you again, Ryuga. I’ve missed you around school.” Light said with a small smile that was likely meant to display friendliness.

“Yes.”

“Maybe you can stop by again and we can play tennis sometime.” Light suggested.

“I’d like that.”

“Well, I suppose we should catch Light up on the Kira case and see what he thinks about it.” The Chief said.

“That is correct. Mogi-san, please hand me that file.”

Today was going to be another long day, but L hoped that they were finally heading towards a breakthrough. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright! Sorry about the delay! I'm gonna try to complete the next chapter this weekend and get back to a regular Sunday/Monday update schedule. 
> 
> I don't want to do any more peeks into Light's POV, but I hope L's POV gave y'all some ideas as to what Light is up to. Like I said, it's different from canon at this point. I think it would make sense for Light to act differently after being approached by L and then Misa in such a short period of time. Let me know what you think! 
> 
> Thanks as always for reading!


	18. Say We're Suspects

Chapter 18

April 21, 2004

“So, do you have any thoughts about the case, Light-kun?” L asked. They had debriefed him on everything that felt important to know, leaving out the fact that they had also tailed Takada as a suspect just in case he was working with her, and were now waiting for the brilliant student to share his own ideas. L was of course still worried that he might bring up Kyoko, but he had already developed a plan just in case the task force ever decided to investigate her. He just hoped he put his faith in the right people.

“Well, I think it’s pretty clear that there are two Kiras.” Light answered.

“What makes you say that?”

“The recent killing pattern doesn’t match the old Kira at all. He’s changed his pattern of when he kills before, but not who he kills. These new victims don’t match up with his plans or the profile you initially put together for him. He’s someone with a God complex trying to wipe out crime by killing criminals, he wants to be worshipped. Killing innocent people goes against his ideals entirely.” Light explained. L watched the teen as he talked, trying to catch any changes in facial expressions, but there were none.

“Do you think these two Kiras are working together?”

“No. The first Kira only killed innocent people when they were directly pursuing him, otherwise he stuck to criminals. I think this new Kira is going off on their own and doing their own thing. They somehow have the same power as the first Kira, but not the same ideals, which is why they are targeting family members of CEOs and other random civilians. The first Kira definitely wouldn’t like what was happening, he’d try to stop the Second Kira if he could find them. Or he’d want them to change what they were doing to fit his ideals. I’m guessing that’s why the First one disappeared for so long, to try to find the Second one.” So, Light had picked up on the pattern with the new victims as well. Interesting. And he kept referring to the first Kira as a man, but the second one as gender neutral. Another interesting choice.

“Why did the first Kira return then?”

“He must have failed.” Light said simply, shrugging. “He couldn’t find them or get them to change so he just gave up and went back to killing criminals. Or maybe he was hoping the Second one would get caught by the police and he could use them as a scapegoat.”

“That’s an interesting idea. Do you have any thoughts to who either of the Kiras might be?”

“Like I told you the day before, I agree with your idea that the first Kira is either a child or teenager. I don’t know who exactly, but I’m sure there are other students outside of the ones who are related to members of the NPA who match the profile for Kira.” Light said and then smiled at the task force. “The Second Kira is easier to find though. If you look at their killing pattern, they’ve been pretty reckless. They’ve killed off family members of almost every corporation around here except one. Yotsuba.”

This surprised L, he hadn’t even caught on to that. Perhaps he wasn’t as focused as usual now that he had to pursue other leads besides Light. “Are you saying the Second Kira is a member of Yotsuba?”

“It seems likely, doesn’t it? At the very least it would be something worth looking into.” Light said eagerly.

As L watched him, he decided that this Light was not Kira. He still likely was the first Kira, but at this moment there was no way he could still be Kira. This Light actually wanted to help, eager to solve the case and likely hoping to please his dad. L wondered what had warped this boy into becoming a mass murderer. Did the death note change people that much? Misa seemed the same, but then again, she never used its full power.

“I agree. Let’s start looking into this group and go from there.” L said.

.

Misa sat on the couch in her pajamas as she watched the news and waited for L to come back from work. She had changed into her comfy clothes immediately after coming home from school. It was so strange to be in a school again and pretending to be a student, but she actually went to some interesting classes every now and then. She kind of liked living a double life and getting to experience the world as a normal girl instead of an aspiring idol. She had even made some friends at the college that seemed really sweet. She didn’t like lying to people, but she knew it would be too dangerous to tell them about who she really was.

She hadn’t come across anyone suspicious at the college, aside from Light, of course. However, her interactions with him had been rather mundane. Still, L thought he was Kira for a reason, so there must just be something there that she couldn’t see. He was too charming and perfect anyway, and no guy could be that good, even L had his flaws.

Still, these last few weeks had been weird. She felt like everyone around her knew more than she did, but she supposed that was because they were all more involved with the case than she was. L would never be willing to put her on the frontlines, he would think it was too dangerous for her, so she just kept to her undercover role and tried to dig up anything interesting she could find. She did uncover some gossip and rumors that were pretty fun. Apparently, a few of the guys in their class thought Light might be gay. She wondered if that was true. He hung around that Miss To-Oh chick a lot, but he didn’t really seem that interested in her.

Other strange things had happened too. Misa often felt like someone was watching her, but when she turned around there would be no one there. In her meetings with L and the team, she often felt like they were purposely leaving out some information. Maybe they thought she wouldn’t understand or maybe L thought it would be too dangerous to know. She sometimes even caught Naomi talking to herself, which was weird, but she had lost her fiancée not long ago so maybe she was talking to his spirit or something. Misa herself talks to her parents in her head sometimes, she likes to imagine they are still right there with her, telling her everything will be okay.

She’s been pretending to talk to her mom a lot lately. She’s worried about L. He seems depressed with how the case hasn’t gotten any new leads lately. He doesn’t sleep much, and he didn’t even eat the cake she made for him the other day. If her mom were here, she’d know what to do to cheer L up. She always knew exactly what to say to cheer her and Mako up whenever they were having a bad day.

Speaking of Mako, Misa needed to make sure she visited her sister and little niece soon. She’s not sure why she hasn’t seen them in so long, but she must have just forgotten about it. She has been incredibly busy lately, and she didn’t want to get them wrapped up in this case they were working on. Misa can go during her next day off for a little day trip, just to reassure Mako that she’s doing okay. Maybe Naomi could come too if she isn’t too busy. Misa would really like L to meet Mako one day, but she feels like that won’t be possible until after the case is solved.

Time had passed by pretty quickly. L had been working on this case since December and it was already the end of April. It would likely take awhile longer for them to catch Light. Misa wondered if they would have time to celebrate their one-year anniversary of knowing each other. She knew it wasn’t the real anniversary of their relationship, but it was hard to define when they started dating exactly, so she wanted to celebrate when they met, especially because it would be the day after the one-year anniversary of her parents’ deaths. She would need something happy and joyful the next day. She already knew the upcoming date was going to sting like hell.

Some days her grief felt small. It was just another part of her she carried with her and could ignore. But other days the grief would grow to a size too big to carry and she would find herself being crushed by the weight. Even after all this time, the memories of that night still haunted her, and she woke up in the middle of the night trembling from nightmares of the event. L tried his best to help her fight her demons, and he was usually pretty good at it. He would make her tea and hold her as she sobbed. She didn’t know anything about his family before Watari, but he must have gone through something similar because he almost always seemed to know what to say, but there were days where even his words couldn’t comfort her.

She tried not to compare herself to Naomi, but the older woman seemed so much stronger than her. Misa wasn’t a fool. She knew the grief of Raye’s death had to still be affecting her dear friend, but Naomi handled it so much better. She never found Naomi crying or staring longingly at pictures of Raye like how Misa would stare at the locket L gave her. Naomi could get out of bed every single day and do what needed to be done. Misa didn’t know how she did it, especially with Raye’s death being more recent, but she envied the woman’s seemingly endless strength.

But truthfully, they tried not to speak of Raye too often. Sometimes they would tell a joke or story that involved him, and everything would go quiet. Naomi was so focused on the case, so focused on avenging his death, that they never actually talked about him or the wedding she never got to have. Maybe Naomi’s grief was just so buried under the resolve to stop Kira that once they completed their mission, it would all rise up again. Misa didn’t want to dig at those feelings now, but she hoped Naomi would let her be there for her if she ever started to sink.

Truth be told, they would all need a lot of time to heal after this case. Misa thought of herself as a pretty optimistic person, but she wasn’t so sure they would ever make it to that time. Kira seemed like an almost unbeatable opponent, and she wished there was more she could do to take him down. It was weird, she felt so certain she could bring him down not that long ago, but she’s not sure what gave her that confidence. She supposed a lot could change over the course of a few weeks.

.

It was pretty late when L finally returned. He looked worn out, but also a little happier than usual.

“Anything good happen today?” Misa asked as she greeted him at the door with a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Yes, we’ve found a new lead on the case. We should discuss it with Naomi too.” L said with a yawn. The dark circles under his eyes looked a little worse than usual.

“Can it wait until the morning? You look really tired.” Misa said as she traced the circles with her finger.

“Yes, you’re right.” Misa was surprised he agreed so quickly, but he must have been really worn out. She helped walk him to her bedroom as he rubbed at his eyes and mumbled something about setting up a meeting for the next day.

L passed out almost as soon as he laid on the bed. Misa smiled down at him and placed another blanket over him before snuggling up beside him. The poor man had been working so hard lately, she felt like they didn’t get to spend much time with each other lately. Hopefully, this new lead would take away some of the stress and he’d have more free time soon.

Misa felt like she had just fallen asleep when she was woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of L pacing around. She slowly rose up to turn the lamp on that sat on her nightstand as she examined her boyfriend. The circles under his eyes looked a little better, so he must have slept some, but the stress of something was eating away at him again.

“Is everything alright?”

“No. Yes. Well…” L stopped his pacing and sat back down on the bed as he tried to get his thoughts in order. “Something Light said today… I was just thinking about it. He said the Second Kira’s killing pattern had been reckless. Talked about how he left all these clues. But I was so certain it was still Light doing these initial killings and that he had just planned for them to occur for two weeks. And I thought he was trying to frame you, maybe he still was, but now it looks like he’s trying to frame someone else.”

“Okay, well, who is he trying to frame?” Misa asked as she crawled to the edge of the bed to sit beside him.

“Yotsuba. He pointed out how the family members of CEOs who died were all from competitive corporations. But not Yotsuba. So, I got to thinking there must be other patterns in the victims’ deaths that had been overlooked.” L was chewing on his thumb again, he still seemed anxious about something.

“Okay, so it’s connected to Yotsuba. But what else could it be connected to? You looked into each of the victims’ backgrounds and none of them had committed any crimes before.” Misa reminded.

“Well, there was this theory on the internet. I thought it was stupid at first, but maybe it wasn’t. Maybe all the victims are attached to another type of crime. Not all of them are related to the high up CEOs, but many of them are related to businessmen, accountants, and so on. Some of them even were secretaries or businesspeople themselves. They could all be involved in white collar crime, just never caught, but how would Kira know that?”

“Maybe Kira has a background in business? Maybe he works for a business?” Misa said as she held L’s arm to pull his thumb from his lips, he really needed to quit that habit.

“But then it wouldn’t be Light.” He huffed. “So, these killings weren’t Light after all. They were indeed the work of a Second Kira. That means Light isn’t the hooded figure we saw on the footage.”

“Well, isn’t that a good thing though? Now that we know it’s not Light who did it, we can focus on this Yotsuba group.” Misa held L’s hand in her lap, stroking the skin on the back of his hand as she tried to get him to calm down.

He shook his head. “He’s making it too obvious. He wants us to catch Yotsuba Kira. And by tying it to white collar crime, this new pattern actually fits the old Kira. The Yotsuba Kira would be seen as the original, and then Light would get away with it all.” He stood up again, and Misa stood to follow him as he walked out the door to pace around the living room.

“He wants us to catch Yotsuba Kira. This is all somehow a trap. He means to gain his power back somehow in all this. I just don’t understand how yet.” He looked like he wanted to say more, but shut up and resumed his pacing.

“Well, if Kira’s power is transferrable, then I guess it makes sense it can be transferred back. Maybe all he has to do is ask the Yotsuba Kira? But if we catch Yotsuba Kira before Light, then he can’t talk to him and get the power back, right?” Misa asked. She still didn’t understand how that kind of power could be gained and lost in the first place. 

L sighed again, looking more frustrated. “I’ve already added him onto the case, he’s not an official member, but he is apart of it. He meant for me to do that. I’m falling right for each of his traps.”

Misa got in his way so he couldn’t keep pacing around and placed her hands on his shoulders. “L, it’s late, you need to rest, and we can plan things out in the morning.”

“Do you think I’m crazy?” He suddenly asked.

“What? Of course not. I think you’re stressed, and for good reason.” She reached up to gently stroke his cheek. “This case has already been so hard, and Kira is smarter than we thought, but don’t let him live inside your mind. We can beat him.”

“What if Yotsuba Kira is meant to distract me? Just like the letters back in December.” He asked softly.

“Distract you from what?”

“What if… what if he really means to get to you?” L looked so small all of a sudden. Even though he was much taller than her, she felt like she was holding a delicate little thing. She caged his face in both her hands and brought him down to plant a soft kiss on his forehead.

“It won’t happen. We’ll figure out whatever he’s planning and put a stop to it. But right now, we should sleep.” She smiled at him as she continued to gently hold his face. He reached up to grab her right hand and brought it to his lips.

“I- I really-” He cut himself off with a sigh and kissed her hand.

“I know.” She kissed him softly once again and he let himself be pulled into her room.

Misa wished she had the power to do more, to ease all L’s fears and stop Kira for him, but she was just a girl. What could she really do?

.

In the morning, L discussed his theories with Naomi and Watari while Misa sat on the arm of his chair and ran her fingers through his hair. He seemed much less stressed than the night before, but she wanted to give him any little comfort she could. Everyone expected so much of him all the time, she didn’t want to add to the stress.

“So, do you think he wrote a set of instructions for the Yotsuba Kira then?” Naomi asked as Misa focused her attention back in on the discussion.

“I believe so. Kira likely wouldn’t want his pawn to know too much, but he must have told him about the train station and the layout of all the cameras. It was the same train station Kira approached Raye at, but the original Kira was never caught on cams. This new Kira slipped up once at least, so we should look into members of Yotsuba who fit the description of the hooded figure.” L replied.

“He probably doesn’t know all the rules, or well, he knows he can change up the time of death at least. I guess he doesn’t know about killing people in other ways because everyone who’s died so far has only died of heart attacks.” Naomi said. Misa vaguely remembered them discussing how Kira could control time of death and kill people by other means, and how they figured this out through Raye’s death, but she didn’t remember other rules. She felt like she used to know more, but there was some piece of her memory missing for some reason. Maybe she was more stressed out about the case than she thought.

“Yes, it seems Yotsuba Kira only knows to kill people through heart attacks and with a face and a name. It might have been easy for Yotsuba Kira to get these names if he already knew some of these people. I doubt he knows how to control people like the original Kira did, or we’d likely see the deaths of other CEOs with big transfers to Yotsuba.” L said.

“Well hopefully he’ll be easier to catch. Should we go and bug the Yotsuba Corp building?” Naomi asked.

“The building has a high level of security, it will be harder to bug than the residences we bugged before.” Watari replied. “Should we bring in Miss Wedy for the job?”

Misa perked up at hearing the woman’s name, she hadn’t heard from her in quite some time. “Wedy will be able to break in and bug any building!” She cheered.

“I’ve been hesitant about brining others in, but this is a job we would need Wedy for. We’ll hold off on calling Aiber, but I think we made need to use his skills in the future as well. We should remind Wedy of the dangers though.” L said as he grabbed a cup of coffee and began to stir it. “Luckily her real name isn’t easy to find.”

“I’m sure Wedy will be all sneaky and she’ll be fine, she likes danger.” Misa smiled as she thought back to the Clubhouse case. “It’ll be nice to see her again.”

“Unfortunately, I’m not sure if you’ll get a chance to see her. I mean to add her to the task force as an official member.” L corrected.

“What? Why? Why can’t she join our little team?” Misa questioned.

“The task force has already lost a lot of faith in me, I can’t imagine what their reactions would be to me hiring a professional burglar behind their backs.” L answered.

It was a fair choice, but it gave Misa more to worry about. Another friend who would be coming in contact with Light. At least he didn’t have his secret powers right now.

“Will she have to meet Light?” She asked anyway.

“There will be a risk of that happening, yes.” L continued to stir his coffee and not look at her. “I’ve been thinking that it’s time to move the investigative team out of hotels and into an official headquarters. I would like to have a building made for the whole team to live and operate in.”

“Whole team, but excluding me and Misa, right?” Naomi interrogated.

“Yes, that is correct.” He confirmed as he sipped at his coffee.

Misa nudged him to get him to look at her. “Hey, does that mean you won’t be coming here anymore?”

L nodded once.

“And what, I can’t go there?”

He hesitated.

“Come on L, don’t do this again. We’ve already been down this path before a million times. You can’t just push me away and tell me to deal with it.” Misa lectured.

“I just want you to be safe. I plan on working more closely with Light and I don’t want him to see you and put you in any danger.” L justified.

“We already have fake names; can’t we just use those at the building?” Naomi countered. “I mean if you really want the task force to trust you, shouldn’t you tell them about the extra teammates?”

“That would make you all the more suspicious and give them further reason not to trust me.” L argued.

“Well then don’t say we’re your teammates. Say we’re suspects.” Misa huffed as she crossed her arms.

“What?” L asked, caught off guard by her sudden idea.

Naomi looked intrigued as well. Everyone in the room had their eyes on Misa now as she tried to come up with more of a plan to back up her words. “Well, you were worried this whole time that Light might try to frame me, but you could just bring me in as a suspect yourself. We can create a whole backstory for me again, just like we did for the Clubhouse. One for Naomi too. And then the task force might not feel as weird about you keeping Light there. We could all be suspects asked to help work on the case, but we’re actually being investigated ourselves or something. And then at least we can still see each other.”

“Light could try to manipulate you.”

“You would be right there.” Misa rolled her eyes.

“He’d figure out our relationship.”

“Tell him you sleep with suspects sometimes to get information out of them or something. I don’t know, but at least if he gets stuck on our relationship, he won’t get stuck on figuring out our real names.” Misa replied.

“You could even play it up actually like you were trying to manipulate her.” Naomi agreed.

L pressed his fingers to his eyes and sighed. “What so you’ll just live as Kyoko all of a sudden? What will you tell the world about Misa Amane? You’re still famous and people will want to know what happened to you.”

“We can fake some news; say I went to rehab or something.” Misa answered. It wouldn’t be shocking for a model to be addicted to drugs and need help. It could even boost her popularity, actually. It would make her more relatable to her fans.

“I just want to protect you from Light.” He finally said.

“But don’t you need someone there to protect you?” She asked as she pushed his hair out of his eyes to look directly into them. Even though L wasn’t easily manipulated, in fact she doubted Light would be able to get the man to believe anything he said, the case was taking its toll on him. Being around so many people who didn’t trust him was hurting him too. He needed her around to at the very least be reminded that there was someone on his side.

“Okay. We’ll need to come up with a lot of background details that will make you two fit Kira’s profile better.” L finally relented.

“Well then we better get to work.” Misa smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooo okay I initially planned for this chapter to be longer, but it felt like more of a transition chapter to fill in information on things to come, so I left it a bit shorter. 
> 
> I hope L is believable in this chapter. Unlike L in the original series, he's got people he fears losing, which is making him second guess himself, but luckily he still has Misa there to help him. 
> 
> I'm looking forward to bringing the family together in the next chapter, I'll take more time with it if I have to, but hopefully I'll be able to update on a regular schedule. 
> 
> Also I just wanted to say now that I'm not doing the handcuffs thing, so don't expect that in the upcoming chapter, they'll just all be living at headquarters in their own rooms under surveillance. 
> 
> Anyways, thanks as always for reading!


	19. You're Definitely Hiding Something

Chapter 19

May 8, 2004

For the last two weeks, Misa has been living as Kyoko and Naomi as Maki. They created a fake background for Misa saying she was from some high school in the Kanto region, but made sure it was a different one from Light, and even got people who confirmed they were her classmates. They created a fake family for her, with a similar background to her own, as there was a woman around her mother’s age who had lost her husband to an armed robber. Her surname was Sato and she agreed to pretend to be Misa’s mom, even putting up pictures of her around her house. Misa felt a little weird about this part, but it secured her background and made Kyoko even more real.

Misa Amane was already off to rehab, according to the news. Her agent created a story about her struggling with addiction ever since the deaths of her parents and how she would appreciate privacy at this time. They took a few pictures of her entering a rehab center, and then she left in disguise an hour later. The people at the center were apparently used to doing this for other celebrities, so a little money here and there, and no one said anything.

In the meantime, Naomi’s background as Maki was that she quit her job as a prosecution lawyer to become a social worker after getting tired of seeing criminals get away with crime. They were even able to have Mako come over for the last two weekends with baby Mary to teach Naomi a bunch of lawyer terms. They told her it was because Naomi was thinking of a career switch, and although Mako didn’t seem to fully believe that, she went along with it anyway.

It was hard to lie to Mako, but Misa knew she wouldn’t be able to handle the truth. Finding a way to explain to her sister why she was going away for a bit was easier than telling her she was helping in the investigation to capture Kira.

“So, you’re telling the world you’re going into rehab, but really you just want time away from fame to hang out with your reclusive boyfriend who I still haven’t met?” Mako questioned as she bottle fed her baby at the table. 

“Yeah, you know, I was getting tired of all the photoshoots, and my agent thinks that this will actually make me appear more relatable to fans, so when I come back to it maybe my passion will be reignited.” Misa tried to explain.

“Hm, so you’re gonna lie to all your fans?”

“Well… yeah…”

“Too bad you’re such a shit liar.” Mako laughed and then reached up to pinch Misa’s cheek with her other hand that wasn’t busy. “But I suppose this gives you time to hone your acting skills.”

“Yeah, exactly, maybe I can start doing some acting roles after this.” Misa agreed, taking a seat beside her sister.

“You’re not pregnant or something, right? I mean you can tell me. I promise I won’t get mad.” Mako said suddenly.

“What? No! Of course not! I’m very careful about all that stuff.” Misa denied. Gosh, she couldn’t imagine getting pregnant at this age, that sounded like a nightmare. I mean she liked her niece and all, but at least there was a degree of separation to where she didn’t have too much responsibility for the little thing. And trying to raise a baby in the middle of a case like this… It was a good thing L and her always used contraception.

“Okay, okay. I was just checking.” Mako giggled. “At least tell me you’re going to some cool getaway island with your secret, rich boyfriend.”

“Oh yeah, something like that.” Misa confirmed. L had a lot of money and was able to procure a building pretty easily for the headquarters. It was still being furnished, but it was supposed to be done by Monday morning. She hadn’t seen it yet, but Watari told her it looked quite lovely and had plenty of space with lots of nicely decorated rooms. Each member of the task force and the suspects would all have their own rooms, with most of the headquarters being under surveillance, but nonetheless it still sounded nice.

“When will I meet this boyfriend anyway? You’ve been together for months, and what? He doesn’t want to meet your sister?” Mako questioned.

“No, no! He does! He’s just really busy with work!” Misa answered. The last thing she wanted was for Mako to have a bad impression of L.

“Hm, I guess he must be with all the money he has.” Mako nodded. “Well tell him he better meet me soon.”

“Of course.”

Mako stood up from her chair and walked across the room to place Mary in the temporary cradle they had set up in the apartment for her. When she returned, she looked more serious.

“Misa, I know you probably don’t want to talk about this, but… is the reason you need space right now because… well, pretty soon the anniversary is coming up?” Mako asked.

Misa had tried to push this from her mind, but the closer they got to the date, the more she thought about it. Part of her really wanted to be with her sister on that day, but a stronger part of her felt the need to stay at L’s side and protect him from Kira. “I’m not trying to push you and Mary away, it’s just-”

“Hard. I know.” Mako sighed. “It’s been hard on me too, but I understand if you need some space to deal with it yourself. I just hope this boyfriend of yours understands the situation and can bring you some comfort.”

“He does.” Misa said, thankful for not having to lie at this point. “He really does. Better than most.” And it would be nice to at least be able to see him on that day, no matter whatever else was happening at that point.

“Well then I’m glad.” Mako said with a smile, placing her hand on Misa’s knee to give a supportive squeeze. “But you call me if you need anything.”

“I will. I promise.” She gave her sister a big hug. “I’ll try to be there for you, too, even if I can’t be right there next to you.”

“Oh Misa-Misa, don’t you worry about me, now. Your big sister is going to be just fine.” Mako replied as she hugged Misa tighter.

Having Mako over at the apartment for those two weekends had been fun. All the girls had a big sleepover in Misa’s room and had shared stories about happier times. They even learned that Mako had started dating again, which was exciting to hear, but nothing had stuck just yet. Still, it was nice to see her sister enjoying life again and being free, something Misa would soon be unable to do herself.

Misa hugged her sister and gave Mary about a million forehead kisses before they left. She wasn’t sure when she would be able to see them next, so she wanted to give them all the love she could while they were still with her. Misa wished she could be a better sister and support Mako more, but there was just so much happening that Mako couldn’t be made aware of. She wanted to keep her sister and the baby safe and far away from Kira, so maybe part of her did understand all those times L had pushed her away a little better.

.

It was Sunday morning when L came to help them pack their things for the move into headquarters set the following day. He had spent the past two weeks being jittery and overly cautious as he went over every detail to ensure their safety. Misa had to change her wardrobe to fit the nerdier side of Kyoko and Naomi changed her hair up, cutting it in a nice pixie cut. Naomi also had her files as a former FBI agent destroyed, which she said she didn’t mind because she never planned on going back to that life. Misa knew that meant some files related to Raye must have also been destroyed, but she didn’t want to pick at that thread.

They had gone over every detail about how they would interact with Light and the others. Naomi wasn’t allowed to insert her opinion into task force discussions too often or else she’d look suspicious. Misa was reminded that they would also have to act like they had never met Wedy before, and the professional criminal would be told to do the same. Misa hoped she’d be able to sneak in some time to talk to the woman again without looking suspicious, but she doubted she’d be able to do much with all the surveillance there would be in the building.

Luckily, there would be two rooms without surveillance. Watari would have his own private chamber where he’d have feed of all the cameras, including secret ones placed in the main investigation space. L’s own secret room wouldn’t have any cameras in it either and would be located at the top of the tower. Misa hoped that meant they’d be able to sneak off together every now and then. She didn’t want to go back to sleeping in a bed alone. Over the past couple of months, she had gotten used to sharing a bed with her boyfriend and all the comfort it brought her. She loved waking up in his arms in the morning and seeing the tired smile on his face. She loved being surrounded by his warmth and teasing him when they were supposed to be getting to sleep. She was really going to miss it all. Plus, the sex was great and that was pretty important to her too.

L had stopped helping her pack after a while, and instead simply stared at a wall lost in thought as she continued to move around him. He still seemed anxious about the whole set up, and they had plenty of time to spare before they had to show up at the building, so she decided to distract him from his worries. She had planned something fun for both of them while they could still have these precious moments together.

“Hey you.” She said as she moved his legs down so she could straddle his lap.

“Oh? Oh, sorry Misa, I was just thinking.” L said as he seemed to snap out of his trance.

“Well stop it.” She giggled. She pushed his hair out of his face and kissed him slowly before pulling back to speak again. “And play with Misa instead.”

“Of course.” He said with a smile as he wrapped his hands around her waist. She leaned down to kiss him again, sucking harshly at his bottom lip and biting softly.

“You know pretty soon you’re gonna have me as your prisoner.” She mumbled against his lips.

“Oh? Do you think I’m going to take advantage of that situation?” He whispered back, letting his hands trail up and down her sides. 

“Well I certainly hope so. If you don’t fuck me, I’ll have to turn to others to-”

L suddenly rolled them over to pin her to the bed with her giggling all the way. “Ooh so strong.”

L kissed her thoroughly before sucking the spot behind her ear and letting his hands fall to her skirt. “Don’t bully me Misa, it isn’t very nice.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she feigned guilt, “It’s just you haven’t been giving enough attention to me lately. So I think I have to punish you.”

L kissed down her neck and let his fingers softly graze her underwear before pulling them back. “I’ll give you plenty of attention now. Whatever you want.”

“Whatever I want?” She asked as she slowly sat back up. L immediately backed up, ready to do whatever she ordered.

“Anything.”

Misa pulled him to her by the front of his shirt and let her other hand tug at his hair as she kissed him again, sucking his tongue into her mouth and biting down on it. “You know, I finally got that strap-on…”

He groaned against her and nodded excitedly. “Yes, yes.”

“Go get the stuff.” She instructed as she let him go. L went into her bathroom and came back with the lube, dildo, and strap-on, all ready to be set up.

In the past couple months, L had taught Misa a lot of things, always ready to please her sexual curiosity. They had explored so much together already, and although she had never pegged him before, he taught her how to finger and prepare him for it. He was open about his sexual past, explaining how he had always been a top before, but had been interested in bottoming for some time. It was exciting to know they were exploring something new for both of them together. 

When he came back with the stuff, Misa wasted no time in pushing him to the bed and taking all his clothes off. She kissed down his chest before lubing up her hand to play with his balls as she kissed back up to his lips again. L was always so eager for her touch, so expressive when she finally put her hands on him. He moaned into her mouth and pulled her closer to him as he laid back on her bed, already ready for more. Misa sucked on his bottom lip as she slowly inserted her index finger, waiting for him to relax around her just like he told her.

“Is this alright?” She asked as she pressed in further, then sucked lightly on his neck. 

“Yes, yes. You can do more.” He gasped. Her lips trailed down his chest again and she took a nipple into her mouth to suck on as she added another finger and slowly began to thrust them inside of him. L whimpered at the sensation and bucked up into her hand. It didn’t take too long to find his g-spot as he had showed her where it was located before, and she pressed up against it to make him writhe underneath her.

“Fuck, Misa.” L groaned as he tossed his head back. Misa scanned down his body to see that precum had already started leaking at the head of his cock. She loved how easily affected he was. It was always easy to get him hard, to moan out her name, or even beg. She liked these moments where he submitted to her and let her have her wicked little way with him. He was so willing to let her do what she wanted, and he was always grateful for everything she gave him. She felt so lucky that L was her first and only because most other women she knew didn’t get to have sex like this.

Misa kissed L hard on the lips again as she added another finger to stretch and prepare him. He was luckily very relaxed with her, so the preparation was easy, he was already so eager to be fucked by her. She whispered this in his ear, and he moaned in agreement.

“Are you ready, L?” She murmured as she sucked on his earlobe and trailed a finger down his chest. She lightly touched his penis with one hand as she continued to finger him with the other.

“Yes, fuck, please.” L whimpered, moving his head to capture her lips again. She slowly pulled herself away so she could put her dildo in its harness. She tugged at it a few times to make sure it was situated properly before pulling her clothes off one by one and placing the strap-on around her waist. L stroked his penis as he watched her, eyes trailing down her form as he made little wanting noises.

“You look so beautiful like this.” Misa praised as she bent down to kiss him again. She lubed up the dildo, and then took his hand from his penis to pin it to the bed. Once she was lined up and he gave the okay, she slowly pressed into him, with L whining at the sensation. Once the toy was completely inside him, Misa trailed her hands down his sensitive sides to make him whine some more. She stroked up and down his stomach, and then his sides again, just watching him tremble underneath her.

“Fuck, Misa. Misa, more, please.” L whimpered as he bucked into her. She loved seeing him so desperate and needy. Misa slowly started to thrust in and out of him, feeling more powerful than she ever had before. It was so strange to be fucking him with this toy like a man, but so enjoyable at the same time. She loved watching his facial expressions as he threw his head back in pleasure. She loved watching the expletives fall from his lips as he begged for more. It was amazing to watch him give into her like this and see how much he loved it.

“Misa, Misa!” L gasped. She had figured out a good rhythm for her thrusting, but she was completely ignoring his penis as she did so. She kept her hands on his hips as she pounded into him, and L was whimpering and grabbing at her hands to move them elsewhere. “Mmmmisa.” He cried again as he successfully dragged a hand over to his dick.

She had so much fun torturing him. She stroked his penis slowly as she decreased her pace thrusting into him, making L whine. He looked so overwhelmed and frustrated, and it was so cute, she couldn’t help it. Little whimpers fell from his lips as he grabbed her hand on his dick and tried to get her to stroke him faster. “Please, please.”

“Yes, L.” She giggled as she finally did as he asked. L tossed his head back again, more noises falling from his pretty lips as Misa fucked into him and pumped his cock. He was already trembling, and she knew that meant this would all be over soon, and as much as she wanted to delay it, she knew she had tormented him enough. She fucked him harder and deeper as she beat his cock, and she could feel him pulsing underneath her hand, ready to explode. His eyes were watery, and his fingers dug into the sheets as he bucked up into her hand and cried out, spilling over her hand in several, hot, thick spurts.

“Fuck, fuck.” He cried as his orgasm overwhelmed him. He desperately reached out for her to pull her down into a hard kiss as his body trembled from the aftershocks.

Once he had finally calmed down, he removed her strap-on and ate her out earnestly, making her cum in only a few, short minutes. Fucking L had turned her on so much it didn’t take long at all for her to see stars. Afterwards, they laid there awhile longer, cuddling and kissing before they finally had to clean themselves up and get back to packing. 

Misa wasn’t sure how often they’d get to have each other in their new setting, but she could only hope that this moment wasn’t the last.

.

As he slowly walked towards the broken body, he got the feeling he knew exactly who it was and halted his steps. He wasn’t ready to see this, he couldn’t, but then he heard a noise like a sob and it was apparent she was still alive. He had to go to her.

The hallway started to get longer as he increased his pace to get to her, she was right at the end of it, laying on her back with blood pooled around her. He started running, trying to get there to save her before it was too late. He could see her blond hair spread out around her; her white dress soaked in red. He tried to run faster, but the hallway was endless, and he’d never make it to her.

It wasn’t fair, she was right there. She was right there! He could get to her if he only had more time! He could save her! Please, she was _right there_.

Suddenly someone else arrived at the end of the hallway, a man. He bent down to pick her up, turning around so L could see his face, the face of a monster. The woman’s eyes opened slowly, and she reached out her hand towards L, but he couldn’t make it to her, she was already in the arms of this beast. But he tried, he tried so hard to get to her. Tears fell down his face as he realized the hopelessness of their situation.

He watched as she was carried off by the beast, his screams for it to let her go falling on deaf ears.

And then he was falling.

“Misa! Misa!” L cried out as he shot out of bed. Where was he? What was happening? He searched around the room and found himself in Misa’s bed, but she wasn’t there. The room was so empty, everything packed, and she wasn’t there. Where was she? _Where was she?_

He could feel fresh tears sliding down his face as a sob left his throat. He curled into himself, body trembling, uncertain if he was still in the midst of a nightmare. Then he heard the bathroom door open, and the weight of the bed being crushed beside him as she hurriedly jumped onto it to hold him.

“L? What’s wrong?” She asked as she captured his face in both her hands, searching his eyes for the terrors that troubled him. Her hands swept across his face to wipe away his tears and she was saying something else, but he was having trouble hearing her.

“Breathe. Baby you need to breathe.” He finally heard, and oh, he must have been hyperventilating and not even known.

Inhale… 1… 2… 3… 4…

Hold 1… 2… 3… 4…

Exhale 1… 2… 3… 4…

L repeated the steps until he finally felt his breathing return to normal. He could now feel Misa holding onto his arm as she stroked his hair with her other hand. She was whispering something again, and he didn’t know what it was, but it didn’t matter. She was okay. She was alive. She was here.

L pulled her into a tight hug, holding on to her for what felt like hours before pulling away to pepper kisses all around her face. She slowly began to return his kisses, hands caressing his face and wiping any stray tears away.

He pulled away to rest his head on her shoulder as he said, “M-Misa… I love-”

“Shhh,” she whispered as she cradled him to her chest.

“But-”

“Tell me another time. A happier time.” One hand held him to her, the other combed through his hair again. “There will be other times. Better times.”

He sunk into her, letting himself be comforted like a child, and he wanted to try to say it again despite what she just said. He wanted to scream it a million times while he still had the chance. But the energy was quickly seeping from his body and his eyes were growing heavy.

He heard Misa singing some sweet lullaby to him as he slowly drifted off to sleep again.

.

May 10, 2004

It was early Monday morning and L was supposed to have left ten minutes ago, but he stayed in the doorway of her apartment, kissing Misa like there was no tomorrow.

“L-” she whined, but he cut her off with a kiss. He knew he needed to leave, but he wanted to cherish this moment with her in case there wasn’t another. The dream he had the night before gave him a strong feeling that he was unnecessarily putting her in danger, but he knew it would be impossible to keep her away. They just needed to be as careful as possible. There was no room for slip-ups.

“L, really.” She breathed as she lightly pushed him back. “You need to go now; the others are waiting for you. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

“Yes, alright.” He kissed her once more before finally pulling away for good. He stayed another moment to look at her while she was still Misa, before she would have to put her disguise on, and tried to capture this image of the morning light falling on her delicate features as she stood in a large t-shirt before him. She was beautiful, as always. She would still be beautiful undercover, but she wouldn’t be able to fully be herself.

“I love you. I’ll see you soon.” She said as she backed away from the door. He really needed to go, but he didn’t want to. Everything in him was telling him to grab her and run. Who cares if it was incredibly selfish? Why did he have to be the hero of this story anyway?

He could hear Watari walking up the stairs to get him. They really needed to go. Fuck.

“I love you too.” He finally said, watching her lips give way to a huge smile. It was magnificent, he’d never forget this moment. The way the light danced in her eyes, the way she hopped up on her tiptoes excitedly, or the way her hands came together to stop herself from pulling him back to her. It was all permanently cemented into his brain.

He smiled back at her before finally going out the door, closing it behind him, reminding himself he’d see her again soon, just not in the way he normally saw her. He met Watari at the end of the hall and they quickly made their way down to the car. They were going to be at least a half hour late, but he didn’t care. They still had plenty of time to debrief the task force before the ‘suspects’ arrived.

The whole thing made L nervous. He had the feeling that Light would see through the ruse immediately, but hoped that he could keep the task force from being too suspicious of Misa. They needed to capture the Yotsuba Kira and the faster they did that, the faster L could prove Light was the original Kira. He wouldn’t let the man get away with murder, and he certainly wouldn’t let him endanger his love.

When they got to the building, he handed out files on each ‘suspect’ to the task force, naming the different reasons they were suspected of being Kira; Light and Kyoko fit the student background, Light was obsessed with justice and wanted to make his dad proud, Kyoko lost a parent to a criminal, Maki was a young lawyer who quit her job after seeing injustice in the field, and most importantly, they all had good deductive skills. He told the task force that they would be simultaneously testing the deductive skills of the suspects to see who was Kira, and using this to their advantage to capture the Yotsuba pawn. Only one other besides Watari and himself knew the truth, and L hoped he had put his faith in the right person.

The task force moved into the building throughout the morning, bringing in things from home to make the space more comfortable, and bringing in all the equipment needed to complete their work. They made a big workspace of the main room, and each member chose their own private quarters, with none being aware of where L’s room was located nor Watari’s private chamber. L needed to maintain some secrecy from the group.

The suspects moved in that afternoon. They each had to go through security at the entrance, and once everyone had successfully passed through with no issues, they gathered in the main room for L to explain what would be happening during their time together.

“As you are already aware, you are all being detained as possible suspects of the Kira case for the time being. However, as I have no solid evidence to pin any of you as First Kira, you are still allowed some freedom in movement, but will be accompanied by members of the task force wherever you go. Each of you will have your own room to stay in, but every inch of this building will be under surveillance. It is not required for you to help with the investigation, but as we will be working in the main hall throughout the days, if you come across anything interesting, feel free to share it with the team. You may be able to prove yourselves innocent if we catch whoever is currently operating as Kira. And for the time being, please refer to me as Ryuzaki as the rest of the team does. Please also use fake names when talking to anyone outside the team. If you have any questions, you may ask them now.”

“Are you serious, Ryuzaki? Are the three of us really the only suspects?” Light questioned.

“You are the main three that I could not rule out. Each of you has a one percent chance of being Kira.” L answered.

L had expected more questions from the teenager, but he simply nodded his head, looking like he was lost in thought. If Light was suspicious of L’s actions, he was not going to publicly call him out. The young man would likely question him later.

L was grateful that Light wasn’t going to call him out in front of the other members, as most had already been suspicious of him when he introduced the other two suspects that would be staying in the building. Aizawa had quickly questioned why they had never heard of these two before and why all their efforts had been focused on Light. Luckily, the members of the task force didn’t know all of the suspects L followed in the months before he confronted Light at his college orientation, so he was able to create a believable lie that Watari had backed up. Still, L made it no secret that Light was the prime suspect.

With no further questions about the setup, L moved on to the next bit of information the team would need to know. “If we are ready to move on then… I have hired someone to bug Yotsuba’s primary corporation building. She will be arriving here tomorrow. After the bugs are set in place, I would like us all to review the footage until we can track down which member is the currently acting Kira.”

“Who did you hire?” Aizawa asked.

“A professional cat burglar who goes by the name Wedy.” L answered. It would be better to get this all out in the open now.

“Oh, so we’re working with criminals now?” Aizawa sneered as he folded his arms.

“You didn’t tell me about that, Ryuzaki.” The Chief said, looking disappointed.

“How else are we going to break in and bug the place? I think L’s right on this one.” Ukita countered.

“I suppose, but it would have been nice to know beforehand that we’d be working with a professional criminal.” The Chief replied.

“I understand your doubts, but I would not have gone to such lengths if I didn’t think it would be worth it.” L said.

“How soon will she be able to bug the place?” Mogi asked.

“Hopefully by tomorrow night.” L answered.

“Don’t you think it’s dangerous to be working with criminals when that’s exactly who Kira kills?” Light asked.

“Are you saying that Wedy would be in danger?” L questioned.

“I’m saying that putting a criminal right in the radar of the mass murderer who kills criminals sounds like a bad idea.” Light sighed, clearly annoyed.

“Wedy is a professional. She knows how to go about her business safely.” L responded.

“Oh well that makes me feel better.” Aizawa said. L could feel the contempt Aizawa had for him radiating off the man. It was honestly incredible he had lasted on the team this long.

While L continued to discuss the plan for Wedy with the rest of the team, Matsuda offered to take the suspects to their own rooms to get settled in. L narrowed his eyes as he watched Light stick close to Kyoko.

.

Misa was able to unpack rather quickly as she hadn’t brought too much with her as Kyoko. She figured Kyoko would be the nerdy type that wouldn’t own that many clothes, but rather invest her time in books. Misa might even have the free time to actually read the books with all the time that was going to be spent inside the headquarters. She closed the door behind her to head off to Naomi’s room, figuring this wouldn’t be suspicious because it was established the two girls were roommates, but found herself bumping into Light.

“Oh, hello.” She greeted awkwardly.

“Hi, Kyoko. I was wondering if we could chat while you head off to wherever you’re going.” The boy replied.

“Ha, don’t you think that would make us look a bit suspicious? Like we were working together?” Misa asked.

“I think it would be more suspicious if we avoided each other. They have to expect us to interact with all the time we’re going to be spending in the building.” Light justified before adding on, “Besides, they all know you’re not Kira.”

“Oh? What makes you say that?” She questioned as she fell into step beside the young man. She was supposed to keep contact with Light to a minimum, but if he had already caught onto something, it would be good to report it back to L.

“It’s obvious that L only brought you and Maki in to justify bringing me in. I guess my dad wasn’t going to be cool with it unless he saw other suspects being treated the same way. But L knows you’re not Kira.”

“Well, I’m not Kira, that’s true, but do you really think L would waste all these resources on people he didn’t suspect?”

They were getting closer to Naomi’s room, and Misa wondered if Light planned on bringing her into this conversation too. Was this a little powwow between suspects? Or was this just for her to know?

“Probably. The man can be unpredictable, but he does everything for a reason. He must really suspect me.” Light sighed.

“Well, can you prove that it isn’t you?” Misa asked.

“I don’t remember killing anyone. I think I would remember doing something like that. It’s true that at times I thought this world would be better off without criminals, but I would never murder anyone.”

“I guess that makes sense.”

“Do you think it’s me?” Light suddenly asked, freezing in his tracks. Misa stopped just a few steps ahead of him, looking back at him incredulously.

“Huh?”

“Well? Do you think I could be Kira?” He repeated.

“I don’t know. I don’t see any evidence that you are, but I don’t see any evidence that you aren’t. So, I don’t know.” She said. And it was true, she didn’t really know, but something in the back of her mind told her it had to be him. After all, L thought it was him, and L was always right when it came to cases. She couldn’t imagine L being wrong after obsessing over the young man for so many months. L wouldn’t be so heavily focused on him if there was a possibility it was someone else.

“Okay.” Light said, running his hand through his hair. She wasn’t sure, but he may have been annoyed with her. “Okay. Well, I don’t know much about you Kyoko, but you seem kind of suspicious too.”

“How so?”

“I met you the same day I met L. That couldn’t have just been a coincidence. I don’t think you’re Kira, but you’re definitely hiding something. I just don’t know what that is yet.” He replied. Was he challenging her? What was this?

“Are you saying you’re going to investigate me?” She asked.

“Aren’t we all supposed to investigate each other here? We’re all suspects.” Light said. He stared at her a moment longer before turning around and walking back the way he came.

Misa stared after him, trying to figure out what all he was saying, what all he had figured out already. Misa shook her head and went right up to Naomi’s door, hoping she’d be able to have a somewhat normal conversation with her friend, even if they had to pretend they were different people. She’d try to tell L about what just happened later, but for now, she’d tell Naomi what she could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty! I've just started another semester of grad school, so I'm going to be busy, but I'll try to stick to regular updates. I'm also applying to field work sites though, so I might not be able to dedicate as much time to this fic as I'd like. 
> 
> I'm going to spend time plotting out the rest of the story so I can tell y'all exactly how many chapters it's going to be, but I'm still thinking about 30. The Yotsuba arc will be a bit different, but I'm going to implement some things from canon and some new stuff. 
> 
> I also might write a short fic about these two soon. I have a couple ideas. 
> 
> Anyways, thanks as always for reading!


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